Strike A Pose
by Fran KT
Summary: They say a picture is worth a thousand words, it can capture the perfect moment and immortalize it forever, or it can steal your soul. Hermione, a freelance photographer, has never been the superstitious type, but after losing her would-be wife she has become something else entirely and collides with Fleur, a rich heiress, desperate to escape. Co-written with Perpetual Nonsense.
1. The night we met

**Fran's A/N: Ok so after discussing with nonsense for a while, and giving her candy she finally accepted to officially co-write. All the previously posted chapters will be taken down and rewritten. We finished working on this chapter earlier [well, more like nonsense going crazy and me laughing] so here it is. If you read the previous version, you would see that some things were added. This fic is still dedicated to Perpetual Nonsense since she hadn't stopped nagging me about it so yeah.**

 **This is not your traditional Fleurmione. Hermione won't be a Gryffindor but a Ravenclaw. AU, which means no triwizard, no Voldemort. This is just a peaceful time where people could actually be "happy" without fighting magical stuff. Although magic is part of everything as well. It won't look like a Fleurmione but it will be, trust me.**

 **Perpetual Nonsense A/N: Aye! It's your girl Perpetual Nonsense invading your screens with another fic! I am very thrilled that Fran let me be a part of this; I was originally just supposed to put my two cents in every now and then, but the more we talked and brainstormed the more we realized it would be fun to make this co-written, hence why it was started over lol I'm very excited to dabble a bit in the dark arts, pun intended, and I do so hope you all enjoy this new fic that originated from Fran's brilliant black soul!**

 **Fran A/N #2: It takes one to know one, besides my soul is not that black, lol. Oh yeah, the title is a song suggested by nonsense, it's not that we cried or anything XD.**

 **Enjoy!**

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Strike a Pose

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1.- The night we met

Lord Huron

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"And it's a wrap" a soft voice added before handing her camera to her assistant. All the athletes clapped politely and hugged the now blushing photographer. She was not used to the attention and that is why she strived at taking pictures. Being able to capture the perfect moment was an art that Hermione Granger knew perfectly well.

The brown-haired woman started taking pictures at Hogwarts. She was fascinated with the idea of how magical pictures captured moving moments while the stillness of the muggle way was a bit more difficult to handle and required more skill. Being the overachieving bookworm, Hermione studied anatomy and started sketching along with potions, charms and all the classes available at Hogwarts' curriculum.

When she saved enough galleons, the first thing she bought was her first magical camera and was so fascinated with the process of taking pictures that she tore it apart to see how it worked. After that, she understood all the steps of the process and used magic to assemble it back.

She still remembered the first photo she ever took; it was when her family was vacationing in the Caribbean the summer before she was to attend Hogwarts. They came upon a field of red Amaryllis and white clovers. An overwhelming feeling of longing for something she had no idea she yearned for washed over her and she was filled with this immense sadness and hopefulness at the same time; it was something she could never explain even to this day.

She had pulled out her camera with shaky hands and immortalized the moment, capturing the red and white flowers swaying in the wind in her lens. She still had the photo hanging on her wall in her flat in London with that same camera sitting below it as a memento of her humble beginnings.

During her second year at Hogwarts, she met the first-year Ginevra Weasley and it was hate at first sight. There was something that the young Hermione, being a Ravenclaw, disliked and that was how arrogant, annoying and opinionated the Gryffindors could be.

The day after the sorting, Hermione crashed against Ginny just outside the library when the former was rushing to give back some books before her next class. Of course, the Gryffindor acted rudely towards the Ravenclaw and pushed her aside to continue walking with her friends.

After midterms, the teachers assigned the best students to tutor the ones that had failed, and they would be assigned by the heads of the house. This time the professors decided on having a tutor and a student from different houses. And to Hermione's bad luck, she was assigned to help a Gryffindor, specifically Ginevra Weasley.

Madam Pince was about to kick them out of the library several times due to the pair's constant banter until one rainy evening where both girls called it a truce and actually made some progress and Ginevra realized that Hermione was not as bad as she had imagined.

Next time they saw each other, the redhead got to the library earlier and booked a private room, so they would study quietly. Seeing the sudden interest of the Gryffindor to stop arguing and finally get some studying done, Hermione's scowl disappeared and was replaced by a small smile. After that, both girls started getting along, became friends, and started hanging out.

In the end, Ginny passed all her exams, but she kept on studying with Hermione. They continued the same routine during the former's second and the latter's third year. It was not until the moment they had to go back home in the end of Hermione's fifth year that Ginny kissed her before joining her brother Ron and their family and they apparated away leaving a speechless Hermione behind.

That summer, they did not talk to each other until they got back to Hogwarts and the Ravenclaw avoided Ginny like the plague until a stormy afternoon when Gryffindor was playing against Ravenclaw that the _accident_ happened. The same one they would laugh about years later.

Ginny took off her googles due to the heavy rain and was cleaning them when she saw Hermione talking animatedly with Luna Lovegood and completely ignoring her again. When her captain shouted to warn her, it was too late and a bludger hit her in the face, sending her tumbling off her broom to the cold wet ground.

Luckily, Luna warned Hermione and she cast a spell to stop Ginny's fall, but she was not quick enough and the youngest Weasley hit the ground with a sickening crack. The chaser ended up breaking her right arm and upon seeing the bone sticking out of her flesh she lost consciousness.

Three days later, Ginevra Weasley finally woke up to the sight of a sleeping Hermione on a nearby chair. The Ravenclaw had kept her company since the moment she was taken to the infirmary and never left her side unless she had to go to class, but right after finishing, she ran back and sat next to the injured redhead.

Ginevra cleared her throat and Hermione woke up startled. Without saying anything, she hugged the redhead and gave her a soft peck on the lips with a crimson face. They started dating the moment Ginny left the infirmary.

Soon, Hermione graduated while the Gryffindor started her last year so the Ravenclaw decided on getting a place in London to be near her girlfriend. Then she started studying art and magical photography.

A couple of weeks after Ginny's graduation, they moved in together. Being at talented as she was at Quidditch, the redhead was scouted and signed with the Holyhead Harpies and she helped her team to win the quidditch cup for five consecutive years. In the meantime, Hermione started working as a photographer for a renowned sports magazine.

After being together for five years, Ginny proposed to Hermione who accepted with happy tears and they made plans to marry next spring which was six months away. They had busy careers and Hermione was making a name for herself due to her original, artistic and gorgeous photos that became famous on both wizarding and muggle world.

A month before their wedding, the day they had been waiting for so long, the day they toiled over between extremely busy work schedules, but they were still able to plan it all the same with little disagreements along the way Hermione sat reading a paper with a cup of coffee in her hand when her soon to be wife walked in, shifting through the mail.

"Here's your bounty." Ginny grinned as she placed a loving kiss on her fiancée's temple, putting her mail in front of her.

Hermione smiled behind her cup of coffee as she placed down the paper to look through her mail; one piece in particular stood out to her, so she dug into it immediately. As her eyes scanned down the paper her amber eyes progressively grew wider and wider. "Ginny!"

"What is it?" Ginny asked with her head in the cupboard.

"I got it!"

"Got what?" Ginny asked absentmindedly.

"The photography gig I applied for!" Hermione jumped from her seat, pacing back and forth as she re-read the letter to confirm that this was not in fact a dream. "They want me to take the promotional photos of all the athletes for the next muggle Olympics!"

That statement seemed to finally catch Ginny's attention as she turned from the cupboard with green eyes almost as wide as her future wife's. "Really? That's fantastic!"

Hermione was absolutely beaming as she looked up to her fiancée brimming with pride. "This is going to change everything." the Ravenclaw was known well enough for her photography, but to be THE photographer doing the muggle Olympics would take her to the next level.

Ginny strode across the room, wrapping her arms around the brunette in a tight embrace. "I'm so happy for you love."

"There's one problem though..." Hermione spoke quietly, pulling away from her now concerned spouse.

"What is it?"

"It takes place during the Quidditch world cup." Hermione sighed. "I wouldn't be able to go see you play if I take this. I can't miss your-"

A stern look suddenly crossed Ginny's face as she held the Ravenclaw at arm's length. "Don't you dare say you're going to skip out on this opportunity just to come watch me win another world cup Hermione Weasley!"

"But-"

"No buts!" Ginny interjected, a grin starting to slide across her face. "I won't have you miss one of the biggest opportunities of your life for quidditch. You have come to every match I've ever played, and I adore you for it, but it's your turn to chase your dream. I'll be home waiting for you to celebrate."

Hermione let out a sigh, a lopsided smile forming on her face filled with adoration at the red-heads statement. "How did I get so lucky?"

"I'm the lucky one." Ginny grinned. "When I'm too old to play my wife can take care of me with all the money she is going to rake in from her photos."

The Ravenclaw laughed as she hit the chaser playfully on the arm. "Gold-digger."

"Yeah, but you love me anyways."

"You're lucky you're cute." Hermione smiled as she gave her soon to be wife a kiss. "And did you call me Hermione Weasley?"

"I believe I did Mrs. Weasley." Ginny smirked. "It's got a nice ring to it."

Hermione just responded by pulling the Gryffindor in for another kiss. "It does."

* * *

Hermione was currently packing her camera and supplies away after the Olympic athletes thanked her. She didn't take much time to properly wrap her chords while her assistant watched her with an amused smile; this photoshoot was only supposed to be a week, but one week had turned into two and she had missed all of Ginny's matches.

She was hoping to wrap it up early so she could at least catch the final game but having to travel the muggle way for appearance purposes really put a damper on things. If she was lucky she would at least make it for the last little bit of the match later the next day, that is if she actually made the flight she was already late for.

"How about you go to the hotel and pack while I get the rest of the gear sorted here so we can actually make it in time for Ginny's match?" Tonks spoke with a playful smile as she took a camera from her boss' hands.

Hermione let out a grateful sigh. "Thank you so much Tonks. I would be completely lost without you."

Tonks waved off Hermione's gratitude as she packed away the camera. "Pish posh, I'm just doing my job, now go get your stuff together so we can make that flight!"

The Ravenclaw gave her assistant, who was much more a friend than anything, a hug before she ran off to her hotel room where she proceeded to stuff her clothing into her baggage alarmingly fast and in a completely unorganized fashion which was definitely out of character for her, but she was beyond excited to get back to her fiancée.

She was just zipping up the bag when her cellphone started ringing in her pocket and when she pulled it out she saw a number she didn't recognize. "Odd." Hermione spoke with a raised eyebrow as she hit decline and lugged her huge bag off of the bed and Tonks walked in.

"You ready to go?"

"More than ready." the photographer smiled as they headed out of the hotel and with a stroke of luck they made it to their flight without it taking off without them.

When they landed Hermione took her phone off of airplane mode only to see twenty missed calls from Ron, Harry, and Luna. She furrowed her brow and dialed Ron's number immediately; it wasn't like her friends to blow her phone up over nothing.

"Mione!?" Ron's frantic voice answered after only one ring. "Where in the bloody hell have you been!? We've been trying to get ahold of you for hours!"

"Ronald, calm down." Hermione sighed. "I was in the plane, I couldn't receive any calls."

"Mione, it's horrible..."

Hermione became even more confused by Ron's tone of voice. "Ron, are you crying? What is going on?"

"It's Ginny..."

The photographer felt her heart immediately sink into her stomach and dread fill her gut with those two simple words. "W-what?"

"She got knocked off her broom during practice; she was really high up and she hit her head pretty hard. She was in a coma-"

Hermione was now deathly pale as Ron rambled on. "Was...?"

"Hermione..." Ron sobbed out. "Ginny's dead."

Everything went in slow motion, people and objects became blurry, and Hermione could hear a faint ringing in her ears as the phone slipped from her fingers and went clattering down onto the ground.

"Mione?" Tonks frowned when she saw the shocked look on her friend's face. "Is everything okay?"

This couldn't be happening, there was no way. Hermione and Ginny were supposed to get married in two weeks, they were supposed to start their life together, have a bunch of kids, and die of old age not of an accident during quidditch practice. This was a joke; a horrible sick joke.

"Mione!" Tonks shook the brunette's shoulders to try to break her from whatever trance she was in. "What in the world is going on? You're scaring me!"

Hermione looked to her assistant, resembling a ghost as her lips trembled and tears filled her amber eyes. "Ginny's...dead."

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 **Perpetual Nonsense A/N: Noooooo Ginny! ;-; Fran gagged at them being all cute together, but I was like calm down Fran, she dies lmao. Anyways, I know this was a short opener, but I would love to hear your guys' thoughts on this.**

 **Fran's A/N: of course I was gagging especially after that "Hermione Weasley" thing ewww. I am glad that she is gone bwhahaha. Anyhow, here we go with our crazy project let us know your thoughts in a review. Nonsense will reply to all of you, well, both will.**


	2. Morphine

**Fran's A/N: Hi guys, thank you very much for the kind reviews that Nonsense will reply,** **jk** **we will both do that in a bit. As I mentioned before this is kind of an experiment that started with me telling nonsense about the summary and she loved it, so I started nagging her until she finally accepted to work on this fic with me [the power of candy]. I have been having so much fun co-writing this with her since our styles are quite similar and the way we see things just fits the whole thing. We have so many surprises planned that well, you will see with time. Oh yeah, since nonsense named the previous chap with the song she was driving herself crazy during our eternal revisions, I will go with mine this time. Morphine by Michael Jackson gives me the feels all the time I listen to it and you might find it fitting for some parts, that piano part it's so... [sobs].**

 **Perpetual Nonsense A/N:** **Ayeee** **, first of all I want to say how grateful I am for the reviews that we will BOTH *glares pointedly at Fran* be replying to lol and I know the first chapter was short, but I super swear this one is** **soooooo** **good and it's only going to get better : D The first chapter I suppose was more of a prologue and this is where things will really start : 3 As always, I'm going to put up the song that inspired me while I was doing my inception/revision thing** **haha** **a revision of a revision of a revision XD Anyways! I pretty much listened to Lilium from** **Elfen** **Lied, like every version, on repeat and it will totally give you all the feels near the** **end :** **) Well, we'll shut up now so you guys can read :X**

 **veelabyte** **:** Hahaha I'm so glad we could amuse you XD Ginny's death was unfortunate but very necessary so I wouldn't feel too bad about laughing lol I'm so glad you were already engrossed in this; it's going to seem like it's going to go in the same direction for a minute, but I super swear things are going to change up soon and it's going to be even crazier than it was before : 3 Hahaha I'm sorry for the cringey moment, I know Fran feels the same lol and I promise there won't be any more Hermione Weasley comments. Anyways, thank you so much for the support and I hope you like the new chapter :D. **Fran here:** you totally get a pass there, Nonsense tends to tease me a lot since I was like 'death to all the Weasleys!'. I am glad that you read the first version and let me tell you, this one is way better. And yup, death to all canon! XD.

 **pappa** **:** Us writing together has definitely been interesting and I swear with our powers combined this is going to be a crazy ride haha or we might summon captain planet :D. **Fran here:** Aww, thank you! Nonsense was really hard to convince [lies] but now that she is on board we are all in on this story to the point that Cruel Intentions and Antique Shop are a bit delayed. It's just that we can't contain our crazy on this one!.

 **A fan:** Thanks : ) It's definitely going to get weird, dark, and crazy fairly soon :). **Fran here:** We will definitely go all the way to hell, but you guys will join us, right? RIGHT? XD.

 **Person of no interest:** Ayeee, thank you so much for deciding to give this story a gander! I really appreciate it : ) It's definitely going to be a weird and crazy ride, but I'm so excited about this. The last chapter wasn't much to go on seeing as it was more of a prologue, but this one might give you more of an idea of what this story is going to be all about. Anyways, if this ends up not being your cup of tea it is totally cool. I'm just happy you're willing to give it a chance :). **Fran here:** Welcome to our fic. I understand your point since I am more into the fluffy side of life but I wanted to try something different this time and Nonsense got onboard because this is the first project we will work together but we do have plans for another one in the near future. Thank you for giving Strike a chance 😊

 **Enjoy!**

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2.- Morphine

by Michael Jackson

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Three Years Later

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A red-head stood in the middle of a room with a white sheet behind her while bright lights that should blind any normal human being flashed in her face, always switching angels, always with a voice yelling out commands.

"Give me lust, baby."

Flash.

"Give me malice."

Flash.

She had to refrain from rolling her bright azure eyes at the photographer practically drooling behind his lens while he barked out feelings he wished for her to portray as if she was a dog meant to perform a trick and that simply would not do.

She was born an heiress of one of the most noble families in France, blessed with the looks and magic of the veela and was considered the smartest witch of Beauxbatons. In other words, Fleur Delacour had it all. Well, all but freedom to make her own choices.

And that is why she started modelling in the muggle world. Soon, she became the image of the most famous products due to the mysterious aura surrounding her, all thanks to the mask she never took off and that only revealed her striking azure orbs and reddish hair, thanks to a glamour since she would never dye her hair and tarnish her veela heritage.

In the muggle modelling world, Fleur was known as the _sapphire swan_ due to her regal appearance, natural elegance and sparkling blue eyes. The most famous photographers wanted to capture her image with their lenses, but she was very picky which made her even more desirable.

But one thing was a given, Fleur would be the one calling the shots, if not, there was always her thrall to make even the most stubborn being to submit to her whims which she happily abused in this situation.

The photographer suddenly grew silent as she released an almost lethal dose of her thrall while his index finger rapidly pressed the capture button, snapping Fleur from every angle, but every time she saw that flash she still heard that voice.

' _Give me detached existentialist ennui.'_

Flash.

 _'Give me rampant intellectualism as a coping mechanism.'_

Flash.

She switched positions, looking off to the side to display her perfectly sculpted jawline and slender neck that would make Aphrodite jealous. The sleeve of her dress slipped a bit, showing off her dainty shoulder while the photographer's finger started snapping pictures even faster, going absolutely nuts over the little bit of extra skin she exposed.

"That's it. Pull it down a little more." The photographer smiled lecherously behind the lens.

A scowl overcame Fleur's delicate features at his command, apparently, she overdid it on the thrall this time around and this supposed _professional_ was getting on her last nerve so she stood up with a huff.

The clearly confused photographer's arms dropped as he watched the red-head grab her purse. "Miss Swan, where are you going?"

"We're done 'ere." Fleur spoke in a clipped tone as she headed for the door.

"But-"

Fleur grabbed a flute of champagne from one of the many servants standing around with silver platters as she passed by. "My agent will contact you."

"I-I'm sorry Miss . . ." One of the servants stuttered nervously as Fleur continued towards her exit with her head held high. "You can't take that."

Fleur just put the edge of the glass to her full pink lips and tipped her head back, downing the bubbly alcoholic beverage in one gulp before she tossed the glass to the side without even looking or caring where she was throwing it, leaving the servant to scramble forward and catch it before it hit the ground.

The only sign that she even knew that she left everyone in the room scrambling and confused was the little smirk pulling at the corner of her lips as she removed her white and gold mask to replace it with her big dark sunglasses before she yanked open the door and walked down onto the street where a limo was waiting for her.

Since she graduated from Beauxbatons she worked as a model, it was easier that way and allowed her to be away from her family home studying in a muggle university that also had a magical branch. With the excuse of expanding her studies to become a better heiress to her people, Fleur moved to Paris, then Milan and lastly, London.

She was what people considered a veteran at modelling even though she just turned twenty-four but thanks to her veela heritage, Fleur looked like she was still in her early teens.

The blonde model had travelled the world and loved being free from responsibilities. The Beauxbatons alumnus felt alive while modelling, as if a heavy weight had been lifted from her shoulders and the world was a worry-free place where the camera and her elegant poses were all that mattered. There was no clan, there were no expectations, just freedom and art.

Fleur had been photographed for almost all the muggle and magical professionals that worked on the muggle world except for two photographers, both female. Bellatrix Lestrange, a very arrogant and talented woman that loved to brag about all the models she had bedded and ruined their reputations in the process. And the always elusive _golden mamba_ that was quite a mystery.

"Swan please reconsider, it is a big opportunity." Her agent pleaded though the phone as she entered the limo.

"Non." Fleur added adamantly. "I refuse to be near zat 'ideous woman."

"It's your chance of a big break in the Asian market due to Ms. Lestrange's connections." The agent sighed "She calls the shots on that side of the world."

"She ees a porc!" Azure eyes sparkled with rage. "She ruined ze reputation of my…friend." Fleur almost gave away that Cecile, who was also modeling while studying in Paris was her cousin.

Being as enthusiastic as she was, the blonde with forest green eyes modelled for Lestrange expecting to boost her career due to the woman's influence. Unbeknown to her, she did grow in popularity but also was considered another notch in her belt. And that for a veela, was an absolute humiliation.

 _On the other hand, you can get even,_ the veela within Fleur suggested with a purr and the French model smiled wickedly.

"Fine I will do eet." The blonde added with a fake sigh. "But under my conditions"

"Of course!" her agent exclaimed clearly excited. "I will take care of everything and get back to you in a few days."

"You will also 'ave to 'andle ze mess zat photographer made een zere. I zought you said 'e was a professional." Fleur growled into the receiver.

"H-he is."

"Non, 'e ees barely above amateur wiz 'ow 'e treats ze models. I will not 'ave a photo of me wiz 'is name next to eet."

"B-but you already took the photos and-"

"I don't care. Take care of eet." After abruptly hanging up on her manager Fleur tossed her phone onto the seat next to a magazine that caught her attention.

It was a magical publication that she loved due to the stunning pictures featured. After skimming through the pages, one picture made her stop. She pulled up her sunglasses to get a better look at a photograph of baby dragons hatching. There were two baby dragons out of the shell but there was a third one that was barely coming out of the egg.

The sweet baby dragon kicked his way out and faced the camera before spreading its tiny wings and Fleur could not help but smile. It was a rare sight that a dragon looked straight at the camera. The French witch could almost feel how the photographer smirked behind the lens and that made her smile widen.

 _Whoever took_ _zis_ _picture 'as a beautiful soul._

Checking on the lower part of the still moving photograph, Fleur raised an eyebrow at the name she read.

 _Photographer: Golden mamba._

 _Assistant: Tonks._

"Interesting." Fleur smiled to herself before stretching as the limo pulled up to her lush apartment.

She stepped out of the vehicle and felt the veela within her start to stir as she walked into her flat. She tried to ignore the creature thrashing around restlessly to get some freedom, especially after dealing with such an arrogant photographer, but the veela was relentless. "Fine. You win. We will go let off some steam." Fleur sighed, looking at her cozy apartment wistfully before apparating with a soft pop.

* * *

"You know . . . when you said we would be going somewhere tropical I thought we would be on a nice warm beach in Bora Bora or Tahiti . . ." Tonks spoke through chattering teeth while she rubbed at her arms. "Not in the middle of Norway freezing our asses off."

Hermione just smiled behind the lens of her camera, readjusting the focus for the millionth time that night. "And what gave you that impression?"

Tonks narrowed her eyes at the smirking brunette; if she didn't know any better, she would think Hermione was enjoying her suffering. "Have I told you today how much I hate you?"

"Yes, like five times, actually."

"And I won't stop telling you." Tonks growled as she rubbed her hands together. "We have been here for a week and a half and you still haven't _felt it._ "

"It's not like I can force it." Hermione sighed, and a small cloud of steam came out of her mouth. It was a very chilly night. "I haven't felt that the moment is right to take the perfect picture of an aurora borealis and-"

"And you are a damn perfectionist, I know I know." Tonks sighed. "But it's freaking freezing here, and it does not look like you will be done any time soon."

"Probably not." Hermione looked at the gorgeous scenery and frowned, something was definitely missing but she could not figure out what it was, and it was driving her insane.

"Well, I am." Tonks shrugged her shoulders. "There's a limit to the cold my ass is able to handle, and I am beyond that point so see you back at the hotel."

"Take the bags and just leave me the case with the long-focus lenses, then." Hermione replied nonchalantly while observing the colorful sky.

"Sure, just don't die of hypothermia, mamba." Tonks added before placing an extra winter coat on Hermione's shoulders.

"Don't call me that, bubblegum head." The Ravenclaw spat and her assistant just scoffed before walking back to the hotel they were staying.

* * *

With a soft thud, Fleur landed in the middle of a dark log cabin. With a simple flick of her wand, the lights turned on and fire crackled in the living room's chimney. The Delacour family had a couple of medium size cabins in the secluded woods of the North.

Normally, recently awakened veela apparated and stayed there until they had moved onto the second stage of their ways of love or, Rajasika which was when they wanted to give and receive love in the same amount, it was not the perfect stage but way better than Tamasika, the selfish love where the veela could take control spontaneously and harm their potential mates.

That is why all veela families had these cabins hidden all over the continent, so their new ones were able to control their creatures without victims. And on this same place, the heiress had a private cabin to rest when things became too much or her veela wanted to go out and play.

The French witch was currently on the second stage of the veela ways of love, and due to her arrogant nature, the blonde considered that no one was up to her expectations, so she decided not to worry about finding her mate and to just enjoy life until she had to lead the flock, preferably alone.

After taking a long bath, Fleur changed into silver winter clothes and headed out to please her creature that was now purring in anticipation. Rubbing her gloved hands, the blonde witch walked the snowy path that lead to a grassy area deep in the woods.

The French heiress' veela had awakened a couple of years ago and was quite taken with this particular place and weather since she had woken up during the same season under gloomier circumstances. That is why Fleur apparated there just to please her inner creature, so she would not intervene with her secret muggle modelling life and didn't rat her out with Josephine, her strict grandmother.

When she got to what it looked like an old temple in ruins, Fleur crossed a stony arch with inscriptions in old veela and the place shone golden. When the blonde witch got to one side of the place, she kneeled, removed her left hand's glove and placed her pale digits on the ground. Soon golden lights engulfed her, and the ground turned liquid, it was a water mirror. Fleur removed her boots and walked to the middle of the warm water.

"I 'ope you appreciate all ze zings I do for you." The French witch whispered.

 _It is the least you can do after all that annoying modelling I have to endure,_ the veela replied with a scoff.

"Whatever." Fleur sighed and closed her eyes. Soon her white with golden tips wings came from her back and started flapping gently. When her orbs opened again, they had darkened, and thin golden lines swirled in them. Her hair also changed to platinum blonde. Then her veela took over and her eyes shone completely golden before taking off towards the alluring starry night sky.

* * *

Hermione kept staring at the beautiful lights of the aurora borealis and sighed. Her perfectionist side would be the end of her. Ginny used to tease her about that and her obsession on taking the perfect picture in every single occasion.

 _Ginny._

Despite the time that had passed by, Hermione Granger still missed her fiancée. When Hermione lost Ginny a piece of her died with the chaser; she quit photography all together for a while, stayed indoors, and drank herself into a stupor for a good year. With her partner gone it felt as if she was living in black and white; there were no colors, food had no taste, and she was completely numb.

Even though her friends tried to pull her from her deep depression, nothing lifted her spirits; she had completely lost her will to live and had planned on killing herself, but on that fateful day she had planned on finally putting an end to her misery something very unexpected happened.

She was walking down the street, her last bottle of fire whiskey she would ever drink in hand when she tripped on a crack and almost stumbled right into a red Amaryllis surrounded by white Angelica poking out from an abandoned flower pot.

She furrowed her brow and approached the flower carefully, crouching in front of it, and stroking the red petals with her fingertips. She felt a spark in that moment, something she hadn't felt in a long time.

It was if she was that young girl again in that field of flowers; she felt that contradictory pang of longing and hopefulness as she crouched in the middle of the street in complete awe of something that seemed so simple, something most people would walk past, stomp on, or pluck for their own selfish desires, but not her.

Hermione all but ran home, her fire whiskey and plans of death long forgotten, and returned with her camera just when the sun set. She snapped a photo of the flower and when she saw how the light danced off the dew that dripped down one of the ruby petals, she fell right back in love with something she thought she would never do again.

After that she straightened herself out, at least a little, became a freelance photographer and focused completely on her career. Her choices took her to different parts of the world and was able of take pictures of muggle animals in far off places like Africa or go on riskier endeavors like Rumania where she photographed hatching dragons for magical magazines.

She was now considered if not the best, one of the most sought-after photographers in the wizarding and muggle markets. She ended up specializing in nature and fashion, which was very uncommon for a professional in the area.

Renowned magazines wanted her to work for them, but the brown-haired photographer preferred to work as a freelance. She deeply disliked being attached to something or someone, making her somewhat infamous for her promiscuous behavior.

She had tried dating multiple different times, but it would seem no one could fill the void that her teenage sweetheart left, leading to destructive behaviors and a somewhat lonely life. Many women shared her bed, but none of them ever lasted long. The only person she could rely on, the only one that stuck with her, was her assistant and close friend Nymphadora Tonks.

Lighting a cigarette, the young photographer started making small smoke rings and chuckled with a sad expression.

 _Ginny hated cigarettes._

 _Oh, the irony._

Hermione took a whisky bottle from her beaded bag and drank from it before sitting on a foldable chair Tonks left for her after placing her digital camera on a tripod and attaching one of the long-distance lenses to the gadget. She did the same with her film camera before placing it on a small foldable table she had next to her.

The photographer kept on staring at the sky that was now tinted in green and purple, her heart sinking as she thought about how much Ginny would love the view up here. Her sad amber eyes lowered to the smoke coming off of her cigarette then to the glowing red cherry, shining wickedly up at her, tempting her to release the pain that was building up inside of her.

With shaking fingers she slowly rolled up her left sleeve, the cigarette moving unsteadily in her hand as she brought it closer to the tender flesh of her forearm. She paused, completely transfixed by the brightly glowing cherry, and felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand at attention as her mind took her somewhere else completely. 'What do you want _witch?'_ A shiver ran all the way down Hermione's spine when warm breath hit her ear, the scent of sage filling her nostrils as she heard the faint rattle of a snake.

The young photographer could vaguely feel her tattoo of a golden mamba slither down her arm in the midst of her dreamlike state. "Shit!" Hermione jumped and dropped her cigarette when she felt her tattoo heat up almost unbearably hot, burning her before she could do the deed herself with her now ruined cigarette.

She looked down at the mamba with a furrowed brow, rubbing the red flesh where the snake still presided, seeming to look up at the night sky. Her bright eyes followed the snake's line of sight and suddenly she felt as if the wind had been knocked out of her.

Off in the distance she could barely make out the figure of some beautiful creature crossing the firmament. She scrambled for her film camera to get a closer look, moving the focusing ring clockwise and then counterclockwise until the image became less blurry.

Among the green and purple lights, was a winged fairy crossing the sky. Her wings were pure white with golden tips. Her hair was covered in golden feathers and she had the purest golden eyes she had ever seen, it was like the fascinating being had just come out of a fairytale.

Hermione was completely enraptured by the gorgeous creature drifting through the night sky with a serene smile on her face; she had never seen something so breathtaking in her entire life. She was so caught up in the magical being she almost forgot to snap the picture, but her trigger finger was fast and she captured the moment before it was gone.

She slowly lowered the camera from her wide eyes, looking up in awe at the fascinating specimen; it made no sense for such a creature to be in a place where the climate was generally cold seeing as they preferred warmer weather, but here they were as if the cold night sky was the most natural place for them to be.

' _So beautiful . . .'_ Hermione thought to herself as her shallow breath produced steam that floated through the still air.

The fairy turned her head as if she could hear Hermione's thoughts and everything suddenly stopped except for the almost painful thump of her heart in her chest. Golden eyes zeroed in on her, looking right through her flesh and into her tortured soul, leaving Hermione frozen and uncomfortably exposed.

The phrase 'if you stare into the abyss, the abyss stares back' idly drifted through the back of Hermione's consciousness as those bright eyes that resembled a golden sparkling nebula all but hypnotized her while they stripped her down until she was nothing but bones. It was hard to explain what exactly was happening and even harder to decipher the fairy's unreadable expression, but for a moment the brunette swore she saw a spark of excitement in those orbs before the blonde's brows knit together. The gorgeous creature now looked almost as if she was in pain, torn in half, and confused by the girl looking up at her, but before Hermione could read anymore into it the fairy vanished.

' _Who was that . . .?'_ Hermione thought to herself dreamily, still looking at the spot where the fairy had vanished before her brow furrowed and her eyes lowered down to the golden mamba slithering all over her body in search for the fairy.

"Why are you so riled up?" Hermione frowned at the restless tattoo that replied with an irritated hiss. It was obvious the mamba wanted her to venture out into the cold uncharted territory to find the fairy, but as she looked out into the trees shrouded in darkness she knew there would be no use. "I can't go after her." Hermione grumbled to the mamba. "Besides, I have a job to do." She sighed as her eyes flickered back to the reason she was actually here in the first place.

A smile lit up her face and her confusion was forgotten when she saw there was a golden halo surrounding the green and purple lights of the aurora borealis and the _golden mamba_ was able to take the perfect picture for the muggle magazine, but it paled in comparison to the one she took moments before.

Satisfied with her results, Hermione packed up her things to go back to the hotel, but as she slung her bag over her shoulder she glanced behind her once more hoping she might see the fairy floating through the night sky again.

She felt the slight sting of disappointment when all she saw were bright stars sparkling at her, but she still smiled at the empty space the mysterious goddess had once occupied regardless. There was something about what she had just witnessed that filled her with joy despite the gloomy mood she was just in minutes prior.

* * *

The veela in Fleur smiled amused after diving and gracing some clouds with her fingertips while her stubborn host slumbered. The model enjoyed flying as a way to vent her frustrations, but this time she was annoyed and didn't feel the need to be freezing in the chilly air, so she gave total control to her veela and drifted into unconsciousness while the creature flew free.

Her golden eyes scanned her surroundings as the cold night air tickled her skin and when she saw the beautiful green and purple lights in the sky she raced towards the bright colors. She was a creature of instinct after all and in that moment, she needed to touch and feel the vibrant tones and textures floating through the atmosphere calling out to her.

The creature was able to graze the colors with her fingertips and smiled widely at the sensation. Then, she felt it. Something or someone was pulling her towards the ground and her heart started pounding so loud that she felt her ears ringing.

When golden orbs locked with chocolate ones staring through the trees, the veela recognized that matching magical signature, that was without a doubt the one for her. She felt excitement course through her entire being; Fleur's chosen, the only person that could complete the heiress was down below staring up at her in wonder.

She was so close to her, but also far enough away that she couldn't quite make out the appearance of Fleur's chosen. She was so curious, she needed to see who the person was, but right as she was about to get closer she felt Fleur awaken and a panic that was not the veela's filled her veins. Before the creature could even try to fight her host Fleur apparated, leaving a trail of her golden magical signature behind.

After landing on her knees with a loud thud, Fleur completely regained consciousness to find her body shaking on the ground.

"What ze hell 'apenned?" The blonde asked to her veela with a thick accent and an annoyed expression.

 _I saw her,_ the creature replied in a whisper.

"You saw who?" Fleur asked clearly irritated "Who ees ' _er_?"

 _The one._

Azure orbs widened. "You don't mean..."

 _Yes, the one for you, your mate._

"Merde!" Fleur exclaimed before standing and, with shaky legs, she headed back to the cabin.

 _Let's meet her._

"Non!" The blonde exclaimed with dread.

Fleur knew what that meant and was not ready for it. If she had found her mate, the chances of becoming the successor in the near future increased dramatically and she would be forced to go back home, bond with that stranger, and have offspring.

 _But she is in pain . . ._

"Ce n'est pas mon problème!" Fleur said with a shout while changing into the clothes she was wearing when she got to the cabin. "I ban you from flying 'ere ever again."

 _You can't do that._

"Oh, yes I can." Fleur cast a wordless spell and let out a relieved sigh when she felt the creature within her drown in dark mist.

 _You are on your own now._

 _I won't help you anymore, you spoiled and selfish brat._

"As eef I would need your 'elp." The blonde replied quietly with a scowl, looking off to the side and out her window. "I need no one."

* * *

 **Bottom Fran's A/N: I love that mamba tattoo! It just makes Hermione so badass. And damn Fleur, you are evil but I love u...[drools].**

 **Bottom Nonsense A/N:** **Ahhhhh** **, the mystery, the drama, the intrigue! I will personally award ten house points to whoever knows what the "Give me lust, baby" flash "give me malice" flash quote is from and NO USING GOOGLE! Unless you're a Slytherin then I guess that's cool. Us snakes** **gotta** **stick together XD I can award house points right Fran?** **Fran .** **. ? FRAN STOP DROOLING DAMNIT! *hits Fran upside the head* FOCUS!** **Haha** **anyways, I'm sure I can speak for both of us when I say we would absolutely adore to hear your guys' thoughts on this** **chapter :** **) We've been super excited to share it with you all : )**


	3. Her

**Perpetual Nonsense AN: Hey everyone! We're baaaack! Sorry it's taken so effin long, but Fran and I both wanted to finish our separate stories before we dove too far into this one. I will be working on "If I could turn back time" the sequel to Cruel Intentions very soon! I promise! I've just promised Fran a million times over that we would get the ball rolling on this one first haha Thank you all for your amazing reviews! I know we're both super excited to make a darker fic. As usual, here are the songs that inspired me while writing; Once again "Lilium" from Elfen Lied, but the music box version, then for Fleur's stuff I was listening to the piano version of the lullaby from Pan's Labyrinth, and then for the last part I listened to Table for Two by Abel Korzeniowski and Angel of Music piano version. It's a lot of dark classical music that fit the setting very well lol Oh and quick warning, there will be mentions of rape and self-harm. Just wanted to let people know in case these things trigger you. I assure you, we both did the best we could to be sensitive and insightful on the subjects.**

 **Fran A/N: phew! I finally finished Antique and my threats were successful since I was able to drag nonsense back to this crazy project. I will be updating on different fandoms and I am also working on some one-shots from Antique's universe [they will be a surprise that I won't spoil] I am not as flamboyant as nonsense with her music so I kept it simple with the OST from the anime Kakegurui. It's basically a mix of decadent piano and sax. The songs I listened to the most were 'strange visage', 'the demise of mankind' and 'bewitching madness'. Anyhow, we want to go all the way with the dark stuff and being sensitive about it tends to be hard at times so nonsense will be in charge of the warnings and such [I always forget about them lol]. Anyway, thanks for all the reviews and we apologize for the long wait, I think both of us never expected our main stories turn that long.**

 **Veelabyte PN:** Thanks so much for the review! You are right, the give me malice and lust is from a book. It's from my favorite book "Invisible Monsters" by Chuck Palahniuk. I love just about anything written by that guy. He is a true inspiration. I'm glad you liked the song choices! Fran and I have very different tastes in music so it's going to be interesting to see how mixed the songs are haha Anyways, sorry for the insanely long wait. I do so hope you enjoy the new chapter in all it's dark awesome glory **Fran here:** nonsense is teasing my music taste all the time, so I kinda ignore her lol. We definitely took a long time but we are kinda back on track now. Thanks for the review, it cracked me up.

 **Beatsbounded PN:** Yay! I'm so glad you like the dynamic! We're definitely trying to go for something a little different when it comes to mate stories. Something neither one of us has seen done so we do so hope you like it. Thank you so much for the review and I hope you like the newest installment. **Fran here:** since we don't like being very traditional, we decided to write a different take on mates. I grew bored of reading the same thing over and over and well, nonsense agreed [somehow] and here we are getting crazy with this.

 **Thestral212:** Lazy ass writing in Spanish lol. Nonsense is so lazy and only knows bad words in Spanish anyway lol. So yeah, we do have a similar writing style but our ideas go crazy easily as well lol. From my original idea we have changed a lot of things but the essence is there and I couldn't be happier that nonsense accepted. I was not that happy about removing that burning part since it's a dark fic but oh, well we will go dark anyways. Let's say that this is an experiment of sorts for both of us since we would like to add a darker touch to our future projects. Leave me alone with my crush for Fleur! It's not that I started French lessons or anything *pouts*

 **Rathofawesomeness PN:** Yessss! I'm so stoked you like Fleur! I love how bitchy she is! How could we not have her like that, especially when she's some high-class model. **Fran:** I really love the way Fleur is all kicking ass and taking names, that attitude totally fits her.

 **Silent Bug PN:** Haha, you and Fran have the same thought of Ginny and Hermione! That actually used to be my favorite pairing until I stumbled on Fleurmione and I was like 'oh, this is so much better' haha and I'm glad you like the bitchy Fleur and the deep dark Hermione as a photographer. Thank you so much for the review. Sorry for the long wait and I hope you like the new chapter. **Fran here:** Dead to the Weasleys! Wait no, just to Ginny lol. Fleurmione 4eva baby, and I do love Hermione with that 'tormented soul' trait, I dig it bad.

 **Musiclover104491 PN:** I super promise we will have a big chapter on the mamba tattoo. For now, it will remain a mystery, but I really really REALLY like the back story we came up for the tattoo. It will just add to the dark amazingness of this story. **Fran here:** oh that mamba tattoo is pretty cool. I think the backstory we are working on was nonsense's suggestion [she pushed me to watch some seasons of American horror story] and my muse came up with something that we both are still revising and it's great.

 **Andrewpine PN:** Yup lol jk, sorry for the long wait. **Fran here:** yup, that's it lol. And well, I did finish Antique [still crying about that] so... Enjoy and don't complain that much jk, lol.

 **Soul Speaker PN:** Do we still get cookies even though it took forever for us to update? Also, can I have Fran's cookies? I hear she doesn't like them haha. **Fran here:** Cookies! Where? Hey! Those are mine, nonsense gimme my cookies [cries] sorry for the delay but we are back. Can we have more cookies? Nonsense ate them all 🙁.

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

3.- Her

* * *

Entering the hotel suite she shared with Tonks, Hermione Granger could not help but smile widely. A surprised pink-haired girl stared at the now beaming photographer which was a rare sight to see.

"So…" Tonks started but didn't dare to continue, fearing that she would have to freeze to death another night.

"I took them," Hermione added with a satisfied smile while placing some of her equipment on a coffee table.

"You did?" The pink-haired girl raised her hands and jumped from the sofa to help the Ravenclaw with her bags "fucking finally!"

The photographer decided on ignoring the cursing words her assistant used since her joy was greater. "Yes, magical and muggle perfect pictures!"

"Does that mean that we won't continue freezing our asses off here?" Tonks asked ecstatically. The thought of going back to her warm apartment enticed her greatly.

"Not yet" Hermione replied still smirking "I need one more night"

The pink-haired girl tilted her head confused. "Didn't you say that you have already taken them?"

"Yeah, I just..." Hermione trailed off, the smirk dropping from her face while her amber eyes glossed over as she remembered the blonde angel floating through the sky leaving a trail of gold dust behind her and then those gold eyes that were so vibrant and bright that it felt as if they were burning her when the fairy looked down at her. ' _I have to see her again.'_

"Earth to Hermione!" Tonks waved her hands in front of Hermione's face, breaking her from her daydream. "Why can't we fucking leave now?"

Hermione shook her head, blinking her eyes to bring her back to reality. "I just have some loose ends to tie up."

Tonks raised an eyebrow. "Loose ends? What does that even mean?"

"You know, I need to develop the pictures and-"

"You can develop the pictures at home in your warm apartment." Tonks deadpanned, crossing her arms.

"Yeah, but-"

"Let me see what you got," Tonks grumbled as she went to grab the camera off the table, but Hermione was quick to snatch it before her assistant could get her hands on it, holding it close to her chest.

Tonks looked at Hermione as if she had grown another head and the Ravenclaw struggled to come up with a good reason as to why she had reacted so oddly. She didn't know why she didn't want the other girl to see the picture she had captured of the fairy, she and Tonks shared everything, the reaction was almost involuntary.

She looked down to the camera, her heart thudding painfully in her chest as she thought about the picture it contained before she looked back up to Tonks, putting on a fake cocky smile. "Be patient Tonks. I'll show you when the picture is developed and you'll finally understand that good things come to those who wait." Hermione ran a hand through her hair as she turned around to head into her darkroom.

"You're not going to get some rest?" Tonks laughed.

Hermione shook her head, waving her friend's concern off as she opened the door to her darkroom. "There's no rest for the wicked."

Tonks rolled her eyes in response. "I see you're still as elusive as ever Mamba."

"I hate it when you call me that." Hermione stuck her tongue out at the pink-haired girl over her shoulder childishly before closing the door behind her and silence enveloped her.

She knew she was tired. Her limbs were sore from sitting in the same spot in the freezing cold for so long; she didn't even have feeling back in her fingertips yet, but she needed to develop the photos. She needed to know the other girl, fairy, goddess, or whatever she was, was real and not a figment of her imagination.

She turned on the red light, waiting until she heard Tonk's footsteps fade into the opposite direction of her and then the telltale signs of her door closing before she turned on her camera to look at the perfect image of the mysterious woman gliding through the sky. She felt her breath catch in her throat as she stared at the picture completely transfixed before she quietly asked, "Who are you?"

* * *

Back at her apartment in London, Fleur opened a bottle of wine with a sigh. After pacing back and forth for the last half an hour, the blonde finally sat in front of the lit chimney of her living room and drank one glass after another until she finished the entire bottle.

She knew that despite temporarily silencing her veela, the creature would find a way of searching and finding the one for her once more since now she had some idea as to how her mate looked.

She supposed she was lucky in the sense that she woke up before her veela could get any closer to her mate, because if the creature had gotten a clear look at her intended, she knew nothing would stop the veela from going back, and that meant the end of her modeling career and most importantly, her freedom.

"Merde, now what?" the blonde witch pondered aloud before her gaze landed on her latest buy. A golden mask that featured three peacock feathers. She fell in love with the Italian handmade piece as soon as she tried it out. It contoured her eyes with a myriad of colors and made them shimmer in shades of green and blue. It was quite a sight.

Twirling the mask between her hands, Fleur sighed. The blonde witch wanted to enjoy more of her liberty before going back to France. She was in the last semester of her mastery in potions and business so her time as the _sapphire swan_ was about to end whether she liked it or not.

Selfish as she was and being on Rajasika, the stage where those feelings were enhanced, the blonde only wanted to enjoy life her own way. She had bought some time by silencing her creature, but Fleur also feared that when the veela came back full force nothing would stop her from finding her mate and the French witch's fate would be sealed.

But there was one thing that Fleur Delacour couldn't deny anymore and that was that now she was curious. Deep inside, she wanted to know who her mate was, but as stubborn as she also was, the blonde witch would always deny that fact.

"In pain…" the blonde witch could not stop herself from voicing what her veela had said about her mate, a sharp almost guilty pang reverberating in her chest as she thought about her mate suffering. She felt uncomfortable with the feeling coursing through her veins and she resented the veela in her even more for making her feel this way for someone she didn't even know.

"We are all in pain." She spoke numbly as she opened a second bottle of wine, hoping that drowning herself in alcohol might make her forget the events of the night.

She placed it next to her now empty glass to let it breathe before taking the mask and heading to her room. Once there, she removed her clothes, fixed her hair in a messy bun and put on the mask. She smiled at her naked reflection staring back at her from her full-length mirror before tossing the mask onto the bed.

Entering the next room, Fleur started filling the tub before going back to the living room. She grabbed the wine bottle and her glass before letting herself be engulfed by the warm water. She poured a glass and sipped from it elegantly as a Delacour should do.

"My veela will be really mad when she finds out a way to undo ze spell I used" Fleur giggled amused at her childish mischief but then her expression immediately darkened "and my mate...a woman, of all people" the blonde emptied her glass before pouring another that she drank in three big gulps. Fleur was amused at the turn of events "at least she will 'ave a 'ard time trying to figure out 'ow to get a veela pregnant."

Fleur grimaced at the thought of this woman knocking her up for a moment, glaring at the white wall trimmed with gold before dunking her entire body into the tub including her head.

She let out all the air she had in her so she could settle on the bottom of the porcelain tub and laid there under the water where it was quiet and peaceful, looking up at the distorted ceiling through the clear substance. Her blonde strands floated up above her head, catching the light as she slowly closed her sapphire eyes and found peace beneath the surface of the water.

She felt weightlessness take over her body, almost as if she wasn't inhabiting it, losing herself in the darkness and serenity when she felt a hand wrap around her throat and then another painfully prying her thighs open and leaving marks.

She saw a flash of gray hair behind her eyelids and could feel a heavy body on top of her own, crushing her with its weight. She felt the grip on her throat tighten and then suddenly she jerked to life, sitting up in the tub and gasping as she greedily took in the air her body was being deprived of beneath the water.

She looked around, confusion and fear swimming in artic orbs as they scoured the bathroom for any trace of an intruder, but found no one there. She brought shaky fingers to her throat, gingerly touching it to see there were no marks and no signs that anyone had harmed her. "What was zat?"

She jumped a little, apprehension taking over her when she heard the telltale signs of someone apparating into her apartment.

"Fleur?" A soft voice called.

Fleur let out a sigh of relief when she recognized the voice of her younger cousin Cecile, her body relaxing back into the tub as she filled her glass once more to the brim with what was left of the wine to soothe her frazzled nerves. "Een ze tub, _ma vie."_

Not a minute later, a tall blonde with sparkling green eyes entered the bathroom and could not help but blush at her cousin's naked form. "I see you're enjoying your new tub." Cecile promptly grabbed a fluffy dark blue robe and helped a now inebriated Fleur out of the tub who didn't let go of her now half-empty glass.

"Why are you drinking so much, ma chou?" The tall witch asked, thinly veiled worry showing in her voice.

"Rough day," Fleur mumbled as she brought the glass to her lips, but before the liquid could enter her mouth the glass slipped from her fingers to the ground, shattering it into a million pieces and making Cecile wince.

Fleur drunkenly stared down at the mess she had made, shards of glass laying amongst the red liquid starting to spread out slowly on the ground. Suddenly, the liquid became thicker and smelled of copper as the sound of a male screaming filled her ears. An old and withered hand appeared on the ground, reaching out for her as the thick substance oozed closer to her bare feet, making her jump back and startling Cecile even more. "Fleur, what ees wrong?"

The hand and blood disappeared as soon as it had appeared, leaving the model perplexed once more as she stared down at her now stained tiles. "Eets..." Fleur shook her head, trying to clear out the disturbing images that flashed before her eyes that were now embedded in her head. "Eets nozing. Per'aps I did 'it ze bottle a little too 'ard." Fleur put on a lopsided smile, but it did nothing to soothe Cecile's own worries now as she waved her hand, cleaning up the mess her cousin made; something she was accustomed to doing.

The taller blonde sighed as she led the other girl to her darkroom. "I zink I should get you to bed."

"Why did you come?" Fleur asked, seemingly out of the blue as she plopped down unceremoniously onto her bed, looking up at the green-eyed veela with glassy eyes.

"I just..." Cecile chewed on her lower lip, looking off to the side to avoid that knowing look. "I just wanted to see 'ow your shoot went."

"You are a 'orrible liar Cecile." Fleur scoffed as she fell back onto the bed. Cecile cast a longing look at the older girl before she decided it might be best to leave Fleur to herself; she knew how she could get when she was this drunk. "Where are you going?" Fleur asked, pushing herself up on her elbows to stare skeptically at the retreating girl's back.

"I zought you might want to be-"

"Stay." Fleur's voice was so fragile and soft at the moment that startled Cecile, making her pause in her steps. "I don't want to be alone tonight."

Cecile swallowed the lump in her throat, nodding her head, because she never could refuse Fleur anything and turned back around, settling herself into the soft bed as Fleur cuddled up to her. "Ma chou...what 'appened today zat 'as you so distraught?" She asked as she tenderly stroked her fingers through her cousin's soft strands of hair, trying to soothe the clearly upset model.

A million answers were on the tip of Fleur's tongue; what hadn't gone wrong that day? Why was she seeing these horrifying images? Why did she find her mate now? At the most inconvenient time. "I found my mate." She spoke softly as a lone tear slipped from one sapphire eye and slid down her cheek while Cecile's fingers halted their movement.

Cecile felt her heart shatter into a million pieces at that one simple statement; she had had a crush on her cousin for a long time. She had felt her heart shatter before when she was only five and her mother saw how she adored Fleur and followed her around.

At that age she had no idea Fleur was her cousin, but her mother was quick to tell her who Fleur was and that becoming infatuated with her cousin in any way shape or form was a grave transgression to veela laws that could have her executed if the clan got to know about it so Cecile kept her confusing feelings inside; constantly at war with herself when she was in the same room as Fleur.

' _She is poison.'_ The veela within Cecile hissed as the older blonde snuggled up to her.

' _She is not poison.'_ Cecile shot back, her eyes narrowing angrily at the creature inside of her. Even though she was a couple of years younger than Fleur she constantly found herself picking her older cousin up from the floor after drinking too much, fixing the messes she made or at least trying to, and defending her to others when she lashed out in a cold or aggressive way.

She knew there was a lot beneath the surface of Fleur Delacour's icy exterior; there were horrors that no one should have to witness or live through. The darkness had been sealed away by Fleur's own veela to keep the model from going mad or dealing with the heavy burden, but she constantly worried that perhaps Fleur knew there was something there inside of her lurking and waiting to eat her alive from the inside out, but with how Fleur acted most of the time she was concerned it already was.

"Ma vie?" Fleur's fragile voice broke the younger girl from her thoughts and when she looked down and saw those bright blue eyes probing her with her questioning gaze she realized she had perhaps been quiet for a little too long.

Cecile tried to smile reassuringly down at the confused girl and continued raking her fingers through Fleur's hair. "I'm 'appy you found your mate."

"I'm not." Fleur grumbled, glaring at the wall as if it had offended her.

"Why not? What are zey like?" Cecile probed, curious and little jealous of this new person that would come between her and Fleur; it was unavoidable.

"I don't know." Fleur mumbled, making the girl stroking her hair furrow her brow in confusion.

"You did not go to zem? I'm sure your veela-"

"My veela won't be a problem," Fleur smirked and Cecile became worried about the situation.

"What 'ave you done?"

* * *

Enjoying the silence of the empty rooms, Hermione walked towards the improvised darkroom set at the guest's bathroom of the large suite she was staying and turned on the red safelight, so the negatives would not be damaged. She had had a fitful sleep with gold eyes staring into her soul, that fairy haunting her dreams and leaving her heart pounding so when she woke up, she went straight to her darkroom.

After making sure the films were dry, she aligned and cut them in rows of six photographs. After isolating the first black and white picture she wanted to print, the Ravenclaw placed the frame on a negative carrier to place it on the enlarger. Soon the picture was projected onto the easel. She tried raising and then lowering the enlarger's head until she found the perfect size. Then, she proceeded to focus it with the help of the focusing wheel and finder.

She chose the aperture point and decided not using a filter this time, she liked her pictures as natural as possible. She considered herself an old-school photographer hence, she enjoyed black and white pictures the most. A real endangered professional.

Since she had been working on printing her own photos for a long time, she did not have to try an exposure test on her films. She knew the exact time she wanted to expose the image on the film paper, so it would look the best as possible.

Hermione poured the developer solution in the first tray, then the stop bath in the second and the fixer on the last one. Then, she placed gently the white sheet in the first tray where the developer fluid was.

Something that the Ravenclaw loved was to see how the image started appearing as if it was magic but she knew better, it was just the chemical reaction from metal silver exposed to light, but _magic_ sounded way better.

Making sure the picture was printed the way she wanted, the photographer placed the film on the second tray with acetic acid or stop bath, to halt the developer's action so it did not turn too dark.

After seeing that the process stopped, Hermione placed the photo in the last tray that was filled with ammonium thiosulfate and was the one in charge of stabilizing the image and removing any extra silver halide that might stain the final print.

With a satisfied smile, Hermione took the print and washed it in the sink to finish the process. After that, she just hung it from a wire Tonks had placed for her. She went back to the lightbox, chose another picture before going back to the darkroom, and printed some more photographs.

Once she had finished all the ones she needed for the magazine she finally set to developing the one she had been itching to see all morning. She usually enjoyed the whole process, but this time she felt impatient.

When she finally hung up the one of the fairy's, she felt her mamba start moving down her right forearm then up to her shoulder, unable to decide where it wanted to be to better see the picture itself. It finally settled on coming up to her neck to get Hermione's view as she stared at the picture almost as if she was in a trance.

The golden mamba hissed in the Ravenclaw's ear, far more impatient that Hermione already was to see the goddess again.

"I know, I know." Hermione sighed. "We'll go back tonight and we won't leave until we find her okay?"

That statement seemed to soothe the anxious snake and Hermione as well as she took down the picture to get a closer look at the fairy, completely ignoring the other photograph she had worked so hard to get in favor of admiring the mystical creature.

As her amber eyes stared at the woman who had transfixed her in only a matter of moments, she couldn't stop her thoughts from straying to Ginny. " _You are the love of my life, but I am not yours."_ She heard the Gryffindor's voice. She had never understood what Ginny meant when she said that to her, but she was excited, afraid, and felt guilty that she may understand what the redhead may have meant now, but she had been tricked by that hopeful feeling before.

* * *

After the fateful day Hermione stumbled upon that flower in the street the photographer had resigned to staying amongst the living and yes, her career had started to take-off faster than ever before, but it still felt as if there was a hole in the middle of her chest; as if something was missing. She still felt that dull pain thudding through her veins on a daily basis, reminding her she was alone even if she was in a room full of people.

There were times when she felt like every day was the same as the previous one as if going around in circles in a permanent déjà vu. Days turned into nights and nights into days. Her photographs were the only reminder that time had not stopped and she did still have a purpose, a reason to keep going. The red lightbulb on and the loneliness of handling the chemicals to develop her photographs in the medium size darkroom of her loft were one of the fewest things that still made her smile.

Then, she met Sarah. After one big photography exhibit that Tonks attended as Hermione's representative since the photographer hated public exposure, the pink-haired woman dragged the Ravenclaw from her apartment and took her to a gay bar to celebrate another success.

Tonks was a very open bisexual while Hermione was just into girls. That night, there was live music at the place and the drummer caught the photographer's eye. Hermione immediately became enamored with the girl with eyes that were as black as her soul; she felt as if something inside her recognized something inside the other girl so after the show she got her a drink and effectively captured the other girl's attention.

Despite popular belief, Hermione Granger was, in fact, a very sexual being, but ever since Ginny had died the photographer kept to herself even though she desperately wanted to feel something other than that void that threatened to swallow her whole.

Dating Sarah turned out to be an epiphany, a way to unlock something inside of her she didn't even know was there. The girl introduced her to bondage, domination, and submission. Hermione had finally found a way to vent by making others submit to her. She felt powerful. She felt free, and all for the wrong reasons.

One night, she had Sarah tied to a pole and was using a stock whip on her when the cigarette the photographer was smoking landed on her forearm and she gasped in a mixture of pain and pleasure. Sarah had observed the normal flicker of pain in those bright amber orbs but then saw something else that she knew all too well shine in those eyes. Release.

"You should do it again," Sarah smirked and suddenly it felt as if the tables had been turned.

Hermione did do it again that night and the next and then the one after that and so on and so forth. All that pain she felt trapped inside suddenly had a way of manifesting itself into a physical form, a type of release, a way for it to make its way to the surface and exit her body if only for a short while and it was entirely addicting and all-consuming.

Being a cutter herself, Sarah introduced Hermione to her own way to release pain but the photographer kept on burning herself. In her own words, it was less messy.

They dated for around three months until Tonks had to intervene. She was not against Hermione having fun but the _healthy_ kind and the moment she saw a drunk and jealous Sarah throwing things at Hermione, threatening to slit her wrists in front of them, the green-haired woman at the time knew that it was enough.

Hermione knew she was lucky to have her friend there to pull her from the toxic relationship she couldn't pull herself from, because Sarah had manipulated her to the point where she thought she needed her, that she was her savior, but she was a fraud. Hermione knew she had dark impulses after the loss of her fiance, but had never known how to act on them and Sarah was all too happy to show her how and in the worst ways.

* * *

Hermione jumped when she felt a burning sensation wrapped around her left forearm, breaking her out of her thoughts that would undoubtedly lead her back down a path she had sworn she had walked away from. She looked down to where the sensation came from when she heard her golden mamba hiss irritably at her. The mamba seemed to sense where she had been going to in her head and was not keen on letting her linger too long.

"Sorry." Hermione smiled apologetically at the snake, petting its head fondly to soothe its frazzled nerves. "But you didn't have to startle me like that." She chastised the snake who flicked it's tongue out at her indignantly, making Hermione laugh. "Little fucker," Hermione mumbled under her breath, but the mamba seemed to hear it and heated its body up once more, making Hermione jump again and scowl at the snake.

* * *

"Merde." A voice grumbled irritably in the middle of the forest as she pushed her blonde hair obstructing her blue eyes from scouring the dark frosty land for some kind of escape.

The girl's slightly taller companion sighed, defeated. "I told you eet won't work."

"There must be a way out of here," The first voice added louder this time.

"Well…" the second one commented hesitantly, her brown eyes shifting uncomfortably to the side.

"You know a way!" the first voice exclaimed excitedly, her excitement making her eyes shine golden. "Tell me."

"We need to leave ze muggle way" the second voice added with a shiver. It was certainly, a cold night "so walking out ees our only option but we 'ave to be back before sunrise, because zey will come to check on us"

"Eet can't be 'elped zen" the first voice commented annoyed "being 'ere is so boring and I do need a distraction and I know you do too" a silent nod was the only reply "let's go zen, I saw a muggle 'otel zat way." The blonde smirked, a mischievous glint now shining in her arctic orbs as she and her friend trekked up the mountain.

* * *

It felt as if the sun was never going to set for Hermione that day; she wanted so badly to go back to her spot, but knew she would have a better chance of seeing the enchanting woman again if she went out after sunset so when the sky started to turn orange and purple the photographer was quick to jump to her feet.

"Where are you going?" Tonks' voice stopped Hermione from running out the door, making the Ravenclaw inwardly groan.

"Out."

Tonks raised an eyebrow at the clipped tone in Hermione's voice. "Out? Where?"

Hermione rolled her eyes at how overprotective her friend could be but turned to face the pink-haired girl all the same with her trademark smirk in place. "I promise I'll be home by curfew, mom."

"Oh, shut up!" Tonks laughed, throwing a gray jacket and scarf at the photographer. "If you're going outside, make sure to put that on so the muggles don't think you've gone bonkers just wearing a shirt in this horrible weather."

"Gee, thanks, mom." Hermione pushed again but was quick to leave when Tonks picked up a shoe to throw at her friend, the footwear making a loud thump on the other side of the door when Hermione closed it.

"That was a close one." The brunette shook her head, laughing to herself as she threw on the jacket and scarf before she all but ran down the stairs of the hotel main entrance, hurrying back to her spot.

When she got there, remotely unscathed, she looked around, her breath coming out in heavy pants and white clouds came out of her mouth, her amber eyes searching the night sky for any signs of the girl. The golden mamba seemed to be doing the same, slithering from one arm to the next, helping its vessel with her search, but came up empty.

"Guess we're going to have to wait." Hermione sighed, sitting down in the snow and bending her knees so she could wrap her arms around them as she stared up and the glittering lights hanging above her. The mamba seemed less pleased with this choice, hissing irritably. "Don't worry. I have a good feeling we'll find her." Hermione smiled down at the mamba with its head on the back of her hand while its body wrapped around her wrist.

Hermione sat there for hours, finding peace in the quiet surrounded by trees, but when the snow started to fall from the sky and rest in her dark locks, she let out a sigh. The confidence she felt when she started this adventure had begun to waver and she was starting to think she would never see that girl again and for some reason that thought alone filled her with despair, making her heart clench uncomfortably in her chest. ' _Maybe she doesn't want to see me . . . she did disappear right after we locked eyes. I just thought...'_ Hermione chewed on her lower lip as she looked down. ' _I just thought there was no way she didn't feel that too, whatever it was.'_

A burning sensation in her hand suddenly snapped her attention back to the present. She looked down at the mamba irritably, she hadn't even been thinking those dark thoughts. She opened her mouth to reprimand her rebellious tattoo, but when she saw it insistently moving up her arm then back toward her hand as if telling her to look ahead of her, she obeyed.

Amber eyes drifted up from the snow-covered ground, squinting a bit as she tried to look between the trees into the dark forest through the thick snowflakes dropping in front of her face. She stood up, wiping the snow from the front and back of her pants as she walked forward, careful to not fall down any of the slippery slopes in front of her.

She clucked her tongue, annoyed when she still didn't see anything; the mamba must have just been messing with her. She was about to give it a good tongue lashing when she saw _her._

It was the full moon's light glimmering off her long blonde locks that caught her eye. Her eyes widened and she immediately moved to get a closer look, to see if her eyes matched the one of the fairy's; one could never be too sure. She noticed that her goddess wasn't alone, accompanied by a taller girl with darker blonde hair that was almost brown.

She was having a hard time seeing the fairy's eyes with her luscious blonde locks blocking them and then _she_ pushed her hair out of her face to reveal a pair of vibrant cerulean eyes. Hermione frowned when she saw their color; yes, they were a beautiful shade of blue, but they were not golden like the girl she saw floating through the sky.

She felt her heart drop into her stomach at the revelation and then the taller girl said something to the fairy that made her whole face light up and her eyes shine gold. It was only for a second, but Hermione knew she saw it and her heart was suddenly back in her chest, wildly thumping and then _she_ saw her.

Blue eyes widened as the mystical creature stopped, looking at the brunette with curiosity and wonder; not nearly as intense as she did last night, but still intrigued. Hermione suddenly felt self-conscious under the other girl's gaze, as if she was stripping her down and looking beneath the surface of her skin.

The fairy said something to the taller girl, grabbing her friend's attention who was suddenly on Hermione as well and before Hermione knew what was happening, they were standing in front of her.

"'Ello." _She_ smiled and Hermione nearly swooned at the sight of her light pink lips stretching across her face, a twinkle shining in her eyes. Hermione just stood there dumbly staring at the girl; she was usually so smooth with women, but her heart was now lodged in her throat, making it impossible for her to say anything.

The two friends looked at each for a moment before the taller one spoke, prompted by the fairy who gave her a pointed look. "We seem to be lost. Could you possibly show us ze way to ze mug- I mean, 'otel nearby?"

"Hotel . . .?" Hermione's brain still didn't seem to have caught up with the situation.

The taller one furrowed her brow in confusion. "Ees zat not what you English call eet? Did I say eet wrong?"

Hermione finally seemed to snap out of her daze at the worried look on both of the girls' faces. "No, no. That is what it's called. Sorry, I'm just a bit out of it." The brunette smiled what she hoped to be a charming smile. "I've been out here for a little too long."

"Oh, what brings you out 'ere?" The fairy tilted her head, a playful smile pulling at her lips.

' _You.'_ Hermione thought to herself, but there was no way she could say that out loud so she went with something close to the truth. "It's just ah...a really..." Hermione trailed off as she observed the blonde watching her with that amused twinkle in her eye. "Pretty view."

The mystical creature nodded her head, tucking a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. "I agree."

The taller of the pair rolled her eyes at the two in front of her. "So zis 'otel...?" She waved her hand, trying to move the two along.

Hermione finally broke her eyes away from the other girl as if she was snapping out of a daze. "Oh, right. I can lead you guys there. I should be getting back myself."

"You are staying zere?" The shorter one's smile widened.

"Yeah."

"Zat ees parfait." The fairy moved a little closer to Hermione. "Eet ees almost as eef we were destined to meet . . ." The girl wanted to say the brunette's name, but she realized she had not been given it yet. "Je suis désolé, I did not catch your name."

"Hermione."

"'Ermione." The name rolled off the slightly shorter girls tongue in a way that made the photographer shiver.

"And you?" Hermione managed to ask around the lump in her throat, trying to stop herself from blatantly staring at the beautiful blonde next to her.

The mysterious woman stopped in her steps, making the other two halt as well as she held out her hand, introducing herself properly as Delacour should. "Gabrielle."

* * *

 **Perpetual Nonsense: Ooooooh Gabrielle, sneaking in for the win! Did you guys think it was Fleur? We were trying so hard to effin trick you until the very last moment lol Now, to explain the Gabrielle thing. Fran and I have a different idea of mates. Like, what if it isn't as simple or perfect as seeing someone and being like "Oh! That's my mate!" We were brainstorming and were like "what if the veela get confused or the mate if they come upon their mate's sibling first or something like that since they're so close in blood and such?" So, we really liked the idea of an imperfect mating system. And omg, the cousin scene! Haha, the entire time we were writing it I couldn't stop thinking of Mean Girls XD I was like "No, it's okay, cause she's her first cousin. You see, you have your cousins and then your first cousins . . . wait, that isn't right is it?" XD hahaha Anyways, we would love to see what you guys think about the newest installment. So many things happened in this chapter.**

 **Also, on a last, more serious note, I feel it's important that with these mentions of rape and self-harm to say there are lines you can call if you are experiencing any of this or need help. I would love to put the numbers down here, but I don't think fanfic will let me. If you don't want to reach out to one of those lines Fran and I are great listeners so feel free to PM either of us.**

 **Fran here: Lol, I was rereading and thought 'wait, isn't that Fleur? but how? Nonsense you are killing me' so yeah Gabs is coming and she wants some fun. Since 'mate' is a concept that has been abused so much to the point that when I read a fic I am just waiting for the 'you are my mate, and let's live happily ever after' and yawn, we decided on adding some tweaks here and there to make it a bit more interesting since there are no life-threatening situations [no Voldy and all that jazz this time] but a lot of character development and darkness. We will update again as soon as our jobs and life, in general, let us.**

 **Being a girl that had dealt with depression for a long time, I have developed nice listening skills so if any of you guys need someone to talk to send us a PM, we will gladly reply. It doesn't have to be about the fic, you can also vent out and bitch about your job [we do that all the time anyway] or life in general. See you on the next chap.**


	4. Show me love

**Perpetual Nonsense AN: Hey guys! We're back at it! Sorry, this update took a little longer, but there was a hell of a lot that changed in it from the first time this was posted so this chapter needed more attention. If you were reading before this is the last chapter that had been posted so after this it's going to be all new. I just want to thank everyone who reviewed or even just read this fic because it has been such a joy so far to go on this dark journey with Fran! I keep getting Swan Lake type vibes from this fic and I honestly love it. Anyways, onto my music choice for this chapter. I pretty much just listened to "Once upon a december" but the Ethereal remix and then Phantom of the opera, but just a cello version, and then Pas de Deux by Tchaikovsky who happens to be my favorite composer. Basically, all classical music haha Anyways, I'll shut up and let the adults such as Fran talk. Hope you enjoy the new chapter!**

 **Fran here: Here we go again, yay. Lol, I am older than Nonsense but not an adult at all. Let me remind her how much anime I watch every freaking season and such. Talking about** **Nonsense, she tends to be so quick at writing that gives me a headache at times since I like to take my time to make sure everything is up to my ridiculously high expectations. She has been bugging me half of the day to read what she modified to the point that I took a laptop and started checking everything while at work between reports and my boss [that we all call Chucky since pops up out of nowhere with a creepy smile] breathing on my neck. Anyhow, I just checked what she wrote plus added some tweaks here and there and yup, after this one everything would be uncharted waters for all of you. I need to fight my writer's block with some of my other stories in other fandoms but I will continue working on strike with nonsense until we go all the way down the rabbit's hole. Oh yeah, I went with Alicia Keys' song 'show me love' for the title, it's such an awesome song, highly recommended same as Jorja Smith's - the one, teenage fantasy and on your own.**

 **Pappa PN:** Damnit! My dumb ass completely forgot that this had been posted already and some people knew! Haha well you win some, you lose some XD Hermione and Gabrielle's relationship is definitely going to be an interesting one to write seeing as they think they're mate or Gabrielle does and Hermione is drawn to her, but they're not really. It's kind of a hard subject to tackle. Fran and I have been going back and forth on it for forever haha so we'll be just as surprised as you when we figure it out XD Anyways, thanks for reviewing! Hope you enjoy the newish chapter. **Fran here:** LOL Nonsense, I told you that it wasn´t gonna work! I have loyal readers that checked the first draft, anyhow, glad to see you back reading this new take on that story and do not fret, we will continue it somehow and about

 **SH4D0W44 PN:** yessss! We got one! Haha **Fran here:** LOL you fell for it, blame it on nonsense. Oh wait, I came up with that storyline, welp, you fell for it anyways.

 **PlPhoenix PN:** Oh, it's just going to get more twisted and gnarly the further we go in. The insanity has just begun X3. **Fran here:** Oh my dear, you have seen nothing yet, this will be an interesting ride.

 **SilentBug PN:** I'm so glad you like the little twist we're putting on this story! It was never really meant to be this way, to begin with, but after Fran and I talked for a while we kind of came to the conclusion it would be different and interesting to see a mate story kind of gone wrong. Kind of one like one of those dark fairy tales or tragic romances or greek tragedies which I am personally a sucker for. Since this is only the beginning things are sure to just get crazier and crazier and we're super excited to drag you all along on this journey with us X3. Thank you so much for the review and I do so hope you enjoy the newest installment X). **Fran here:** Back when I was writing Antique, I decided on creating all the veela lore from scratch (almost since I took some of what was stated before by a gazillion fics on mates) and added different layers to all of what was known, the result is a very interesting take on veela that I wanted to use in all my stories. In a way, I craved for depth and now I have something that helps me a lot when I am thinking about new veela stories. After talking with nonsense about it we really wanted to add a twist and a lot of what-ifs popped up, this is just one of them and yup, I am a huge fan of greek tragedies as well. Thanks for giving a chance to our story.

 **Hatestohurtyou PN:** Ah, sorry. We really wanted it to be a surprise and felt like that would be a super big spoiler to put in the summary X (No hard feelings if this tale isn't for you though. We appreciate you even stopping to read it for a minute X). **Fran here:** ahem, a tag would have ruined the surprise for the ones that didn´t read the first draft, don´t you think? In any case, you are free to drop it if it´s not your cup of tea.

 **SigneG PN:** Yay! Another one liked the twist! See Fran!? We got another one! X) haha thank you for the review and for putting up with our shenanigans. Hope you like the new chapter X). **Fran here:** Hahaha nonsense was all jumping around when she saw people falling for our teaser, thanks for your review and I hope you enjoy the next chap as well.

 **Rose Russo PN:** I'm so glad you decided on reviewing this story! It's an honor X) Fran is the one with all the genius about the different stages of the veelahaha I just sit there dumbly and ask her to explain again, but this time as if I was a five-year-old lmao Anyways, I'm so entirely thrilled that you're liking our take on the veela mating and such! I hope you like the newest installment because it is definitely going to mix things up X3. **Fran here:** Lol nonsense talks as if I am a genius or something, I just invested a ridiculous amount of time reading almost all the Fleurmione out there and decided to write a deeper veela mythology that can be of use in any story I decided to write, besides she´s not dumb, just too hyper at times lol. I love history and I think that veela deserved their own so I gave it a try and I turned our quite alright I might add. I am glad you liked the story so far, we will keep on working hard on it (well, more like nonsense bugging me at 3am and I trying to sleep) thanks for the review :)

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

4.- Show me love

* * *

Hermione sat on a red stool at the hotel bar under the dim lights, casually stirring her vodka tonic with her little black straw to give off an aloof demeanor as she eyed the fairy she learned to be known as Gabrielle sipping on a martini with a sly grin that she didn't bother on hiding.

She tried not to look as intrigued as she really was, but couldn't stop her gaze from lingering when she saw the hairpin curve of Gabrielle's pink lips when she caught the Ravenclaw attempting to discreetly gaze at her.

Hermione knew she had been caught when the girl smiled as she did, but Gabrielle remained silent as she casually pulled the sword-shaped toothpick from her martini, delicately placing an olive in her mouth and wrapping her lips around the bitter fruit before extracting the sword from it at an excruciatingly slow pace.

Colette couldn't hold back her eye roll as she watched her cousin put on quite the show for this new stranger that had immediately caught her attention which was rare for the Delacour even at this stage of her veela form.

Colette wasn't against the girl's behavior in the slightest though, she was more upset she didn't have a partner herself and from the looks of the people in this rustic looking bar, she wouldn't be finding one any time soon; at least not one that fit her criteria.

"So..." Hermione seemed to flounder for a moment when Gabrielle looked at her with that mischievous twinkle in those bright sapphire eyes she was so well known for.

"So..." the fairy smirked, mirroring the brunette sitting a seat away from her. She thought it was kind of funny this woman chose to keep a seat between them as if distancing herself from the veela would somehow ease the tension that had so quickly built between them.

Hermione inwardly chided herself for acting like a child with no experience with women; she was the _golden mamba_ for Merlin's sake. She never had a problem getting women or talking to them, so this should be no different. "Do you guys come here often?"

Hermione immediately wanted to hit herself in the forehead for asking such a dumb question, but Gabrielle didn't laugh. She just looked at the photographer with an amused grin. "Are you trying to 'it on me?"

"What?" Hermione scoffed, trying to cover up her embarrassment at using such a cliché pick up line. "No. Of course not." She scrambled to try to recover from such a horrible attempt at a conversation. "I'm just genuinely curious if you two come around here often. Not this hotel obviously, seeing as you two were lost. I meant Norway."

 _Shut up, Granger. You're rambling._ Hermione reprimanded herself, wanting to slam her head into the hardwood of the bar at how ridiculous she sounded.

"Occasionally," Colette answered for her amused, yet very enamored cousin.

"We 'ave a cabin out een ze woods zat we-" Gabrielle started, but was cut off by a sharp jab from her cousin. The shorter girl glared over at Colette for the interruption, but blue eyes gave her a pointed look, telling her to keep her mouth shut about the cabin. Non-veela's weren't supposed to know about the cabin or really anything about their culture, at all.

"I must apologize for my cousin." Gabrielle scowled at Colette before putting her charming smile back on for Hermione. "She doesn't get out much."

Outrage shone on Colette's face at Gabrielle's easy dismissal of her. "Quoi!?"

"Tais-toi." Gabrielle hissed at the other girl before turning her full attention to the photographer. "What brings you out 'ere?"

"I'm just here with Tonks to get some nature pictures." Hermione smiled, deciding that playing coy and keeping her fame to herself would be the better approach.

"Oh." Gabrielle became a little solemn at the mention of this Tonks girl while Colette perked up. "So, you're on vacation wiz your girlfriend zen?"

A laugh slipped from Hermione's lips at the absurdity of Tonks being her girlfriend; that would never happen. "Heavens no. Tonks is my assistant."

Just as quick as Gabrielle fell from her high, she was right back when she found out this girl was just Hermione's assistant. "So, work zen."

"Ees zis Tonks girl cute?" Colette jumped in with a grin.

Hermione seemed to ponder the question for a moment while Gabrielle looked mildly irritated by the interruption.

"I guess so." Hermione shrugged. "Not my type though."

"Oh?" Gabrielle raised an eyebrow, a catlike smile spreading across her face. "What ees your type?"

"I usually go for red-heads." Hermione grinned when she saw the blonde's face drop a bit; the Ravenclaw knew the other girl was confident she would perfectly describe her, but she had to gain some footing back after her horrendous pickup line. "But I'm starting to like blondes."

"You 'ave good taste zen." Gabrielle replied smugly as she took a sip from her martini while Colette rolled her eyes for what felt like the millionth time that night at their blatant flirting that made her want to gag.

She gave the shorter girl a slight nudge as if to tell her to hurry things along because she was becoming alarmingly impatient. Gabrielle could have her fun, but only once they found someone for her too and this Tonks girl could be promising.

"So..." Gabrielle cleared her throat, giving Colette a scathing look out of the corner of her eye; she really needed a little more time to warm Hermione up, but her cousin was becoming antsy. "You are staying 'ere?" She asked as she batted her eyelashes at the brunette.

"Yeah." Hermione nodded her head as she looked down into her drink that was almost gone. "We're in one of the bigger suites."

"Oh?" Gabrielle moved over a seat, closing the distance between her and the Ravenclaw, effectively catching the other girl's attention as she bit down on her plump lower lip, her eyes flashing gold for a brief second before they turned into a bluer velvety color. "Can we see eet?"

Hermione found herself at a loss for words once again that night. How could she possibly say no to that devious look the girl was giving her; trouble and mayhem playing around in those dark eyes.

"Sure." Hermione replied in what she hoped to be an aloof voice before she downed the rest of her drink, desperately trying not to break the glass in her hand when she felt of the other girl's hand glide over to rest on her thigh.

* * *

"Here it is." Hermione smiled as she opened the door for her two new guests. Colette walked past her without so much as sparing the Ravenclaw a second glance while Gabrielle shot her a flirty smile before making her way in.

"C'est magnifique." Gabrielle grinned as she looked at the rustic décor of the spacious room.

"Took you long enough!" Tonks grumbled as she emerged from the kitchen, but upon seeing the two blondes in their makeshift living room her eyes widened. "Oh. You brought guests."

Colette glided over to the assistant effortlessly, gingerly taking Tonk's hand in her own. "Colette." She smiled. This girl would do just fine.

"Tonks." The assistant smiled back awkwardly, still caught a little off guard by the unexpected company, but it wouldn't be the first time Hermione brought random women up to their hotel room.

"Gabrielle." The shorter veela spoke distractedly as she flitted around the room, her fingertips absentmindedly running along with the rich dark wood of Hermione's desk where one of her digital cameras was while her cerulean eyes drank in her surroundings.

She paused when she saw a photo of an aurora borealis sitting on the desk, her brow furrowing as she leaned in to get a better look at the photo; she knew that style of photography, but couldn't place her finger on it. Her bright orbs shifted over to the brunette who was grabbing them more drinks and then she saw it.

The gold mamba was coiled around Hermione's shoulder with its head resting on her neck right below her chin. "You're..." Gabrielle started with wide eyes as Hermione silently handed her a butterbeer, her dark eyebrow raised. "You're ze golden mamba."

Hermione grinned sheepishly when she saw the realization dawning on the fairy's face; she was surprised the girl knew her, but it just further proved that the girl was a magical being as well so at least she didn't have to hide her magic. She knew she was well known, but that didn't mean art and photography was everyone's cup of tea. "What gave it away?" She asked cheekily as the mamba moved to the other side of her neck.

Gabrielle just responded by taking a long drink from the butterbeer, willing her racing heart to slow down as she pulled the drink away and licked off any remnants of foam from her lips, effectively throwing the other girl off and giving her the upper hand once again.

"Your photos..." She spoke as her cerulean eyes raked over the photo of the flower. "Are quite good."

Hermione smiled cockily over at the blonde. "You're interested in photography?"

"Well..." Gabrielle started with a small sly smile. "Let's just say that I have a friend in the industry."

"Is that so?" Hermione looked at the petite girl, a spark of interest shining in those amber eyes. "Anyone, I might know?"

Gabrielle shook her head, turning her attention to some of the other photos that were on the wall that seemed to be taken by the girl standing next to her. "Non. You wouldn't know 'er."

"Oh, so she's a model then," Hermione smirked as she rocked back and forth on her heels a couple of feet behind her companion, following Gabrielle's line of sight to some of her other photos of flowers.

"I never said zat." The blonde looked over her shoulder at the photographer; her coy smile giving away the fact that the person she knew was, in fact, a model.

"Do you guys work together?" Hermione asked with a tilt of her head, making the French girl laugh.

"I am not a model."

"Why not?" The brunette took a small step forward, decreasing the space between them. "You certainly have the looks for it."

"I more prefer ze joys of artistic and..." Gabrielle waved her hand around as if she was searching for the right words. "...private photography." She finished with a flirty smile, her sultry tone making Hermione's body heat up.

"I see." Was the only slightly intelligent thing Hermione could think to say while her mind wandered to the more compromising things she could be doing with this mysterious and tantalizing girl.

"You know..." Gabrielle's devious smile turned a little more serious as she turned around to face the Ravenclaw. "I 'eard zis rumor about ze golden mamba."

"Oh?" Hermione asked with a raised eyebrow while the sound of the fairy's heels clicking on the ground rung in her ears as Gabrielle closed the distance between them. "What rumor?"

"I 'eard you are a master of ze dark arts." The blonde replied as she bit down on her lower lip, her bright blue eyes raking up and down Hermione's form predatorily.

A smile tugged at the corner of Hermione's lips; this was going to be fun. "I've been known to dabble."

Blue eyes flashed a blinding gold for the third time that night before settling into a darker shade of blue. "'Ow dark?"

Hermione smirked at the question. "There's only one way to find out."

Gabrielle stood there, a mere foot away from the golden mamba herself, staring deep into those amber eyes, both silently daring the other to make the first move. A devious smile started to tug at the corners of Gabrielle's lips; she got even more than she was hoping for tonight.

She knew her veela was craving the touch of someone else, specifically this girl, so she was all too happy to make the first move and turned around. Her heels clicked as she walked down the hardwood floor of the hallway, she was sure to lead to the other girl's room.

Her smile grew when she heard the sound of footsteps following close behind her; she wasn't going to deny the brunette what she was craving. Submission was her favorite role to play after all.

A hand reached out behind her when she came to a door at the end of the hall and casually turned the nob, slowly opening the dark wood door for her. She walked in, taking in the dark décor of the room; a stark contrast to the rustic look of the rest of the place.

The sound of the door clicking shut behind her pulled Gabrielle from her wonder, bringing her back to the task at hand as she turned around to see those amber eyes looking at her with a quiet intensity.

The veela knew that look well and seeing it swimming in the photographer's eyes just excited her more as she slowly approached Hermione standing so still it reminded her of the snake that freely slithered around the Ravenclaws skin; poised and ready to strike at any moment.

A chill ran down Gabrielle's spine at the serpent-like look Hermione's honey eyes took on as she slowly ran her hands up the other girl's arm before tangling her fingers from her right hand in the hairs on the back of the photographer's neck.

She licked her lips as she looked at the straight-line Hermione's lips were set in, her bright sapphire orbs flickering up to look in the brunette's eyes once more before she closed her own and closed the gap between them.

A sigh left her full pink lips when she got her first taste of the brilliant woman, her heart fluttering pleasantly in her chest as Hermione rested her hand on her hip. She started moving her lips against the other girls, the veela in her starting to become more aggressive and needy as the kiss went on, but Hermione pushed her back gently but assertively.

Confusion filled Gabrielle's hazy eyes at being pushed away. She went to lean in again but was met with a finger pressed to her lips.

The blonde raised a perfectly manicured eyebrow at her companion's actions, but when she saw the predatory look the brunette wore, she understood perfectly well what was happening and took a step back with dark eyes watching her every move. She started to take off her shirt, but a soft firm voice made her shiver and pause.

"Slower," Hermione spoke as she leaned back on a desk, her hands resting on the edge.

The petite girl felt excitement rush through her entire system at the command and immediately obeyed, slowing her actions down for her audience's viewing pleasure.

Hermione gripped the edge of the desk tighter as the girl in front of her took off her shirt at a painstakingly slow pace, revealing a black lacy bra.

She turned around as she slid her skirt down her legs and Hermione dug her nails into the wood when she realized the blonde was wearing a thong. She leaned over, giving her companion a perfect view of her shapely butt as she started to unclasp her heels.

"Leave them on," Hermione commanded as she pushed off the desk and approached the lamb that had come so happily to the slaughter. The younger woman stood up straight and turned around, trepidation and excitement swirling in her cerulean orbs; she was definitely no stranger to the game they were playing. "Get on the bed."

The blonde complied immediately, crawling onto the soft dark blue satin sheets and lying on her back.

Hermione circled the bed like the sharks she liked to photograph, eyeing the eager girl before approaching the bed. She grabbed one of the blonde's petite wrists and brought it above her head, running her thumb along the soft flesh.

"Do you want to see a magic trick?" the photographer asked amused and the blonde nodded. Hermione touched her mamba's head and cast a silent spell. Soon, the snake moved and went down her arm before the Ravenclaw whispered a soft _quattour_ and the serpent divided into four smaller versions of itself that wrapped around the blonde's wrists and ankles.

The blonde let out a shudder at the feeling while Hermione got onto the bed and straddled her to make sure the wrists were firmly restrained. She wordlessly summoned a black silk blindfold and leaned forward, covering those piercing blue eyes.

She could hear the rushed breaths coming from the blonde's full lips, tickling her skin as she whispered into the excited girls' ear. "What's your safe word?"

"Éclair." Gabrielle replied breathlessly.

The photographer hummed her understanding as she summoned a leather heart shaped crop from her beaded bag and sat up, running the leather down the blonde's heaving chest with a line of goosebumps following close behind.

Hermione's companion squirmed a bit against the restraints, her sense of touch increased tenfold with her lack of sight. The feel of the leather running down the skin of her stomach was enough to set her teeth on edge and put her on the verge of frenzy.

In a moment, it was all gone though, and the brunette was no longer straddling her. The eager girl pulled on her restraints in protest, aching for the other woman's touch that was so cruelly taken from her.

With a flick of her hand and a wordless spell, the photographer made the restraints to move so the blonde flipped and was now on all fours on the bed whilst her clothes changed into a tight dark corset with red straps, a black skirt, and ebony fishnet thighs. She decided to go barefoot this time.

"What do you want princess?" Hermione whispered by the blonde's ear before pulling her hair and the latter moaned.

"I need to be punished, mamba." The tied blonde whispered between moans. She was feeling her arousal peaking when Hermione ran her nails up and down the former's thighs and then switched to the crop making the girl shiver and causing goosebumps to erupt all over her legs and arms.

"I know you do." Hermione pulled the blonde's tresses one more time and the latter's moans got louder when the sturdy leather of the riding crop grazed her inner thighs before the photographer hit her twice on each butt cheek.

"I just want to know how much." The Ravenclaw smirked and the blonde groaned while feeling how her body heated up and dampness started pooling between her legs, unable to come up with a coherent answer. "Well?" The brown-haired photographer nibbled the blonde's ear before running her nails down the latter's back that arched almost immediately, her sex pulsating in desperate need of attention.

"Punish me to your 'eart's content, _mamba d'or._ " The gasping blonde finally answered when Hermione hit her with the crop harder this time, leaving a red heart shape on the girl's firm butt cheek.

"As you wish."

The only thing that was heard after that was the sound of the riding crop on tender flesh and aroused moans from the young veela. When she thought that the French girl's moans could not get any louder, she used two wandless spells. One to flip her over so now she was facing the extremely aroused blonde without untying her, and the second to remove the latter's lace underwear.

With a wide smirk, Hermione unwrapped a square-shaped candy and played with it in her mouth. Then, the photographer ran the tip of the crop around the blonde's breasts that perked up immediately and erected her pinkish nipples.

The Ravenclaw kept on teasing the now squirming blonde before making the satin ropes attached to her legs retract so now the French girl's thighs were wide open.

"I can tell that you like it rough but..." the photographer kneeled between the French girl's legs and ran her nails up the blonde's thighs who bucked her hips. Lowering her head, Hermione used the candy to graze it against the woman's clit and the minty sweet sent a shiver down the blonde's spine making her limbs shake in anticipation. "There are parts of the body that should be treated gently." The photographer whispered against the blonde's sweet spot before licking it slightly, making the French girl buck her hips one more time.

"Please…" the blonde now had tears in her eyes. She was aroused beyond her wildest fantasies, but she was in a desperate need of release.

"Yes?" Hermione raised her head with a smug smile "what do you want, princess?"

"I want…" the photographer sucked on the blonde's clit interrupting her.

"You want…?" the Ravenclaw whispered sending tingles of arousal all over the blonde that looked that she couldn't take it anymore.

"I want you to fuck me." Gabrielle finally gasped out.

"My pleasure" Hermione replied softly before diving in and devouring the blonde whose groans became louder when she pushed two fingers into her.

The blonde pulled at the restraints as the photographer brought her closer and closer to the edge, but right as she was about to tip over Hermione stopped. Her companion let out a whine, bucking her hips in hopes of getting that magical mouth back on her once more while Hermione watched with an amused smirk.

"I don't remember saying you could come yet," Hermione spoke softly as she ran her nails up the girls' inner thighs.

"Please." The blonde whined.

"So impatient." Hermione sighed as she chided her latest victim. She let the girl writhe for a couple of moments longer before she kissed her way up her toned thigh, making the blonde squirm even more.

When she was so close to where the girl needed her the most Hermione bit down on her inner thigh. The blonde jumped at the unexpected action and let out a moan, pulling on her restraints harder. She would love to touch the brunette at this point, but it didn't seem that was going to happen any time soon.

A louder moan was emitted from the restrained woman's mouth when Hermione finally went back to massaging the girl's clit lazily with her tongue, purposely going slow and taking her time to drive her companion crazy.

Hermione almost brought the girl to climax four different times, but whenever the girl was about to finally tip over the edge she stopped. By the fifth time the Ravenclaw was going down the blonde was on the verge of losing her mind. Her lithe body was covered in a light sheen of sweat and she was willing to kill at this point if it meant she would be able to come.

She was close, oh so close and she was already anticipating the painful clench in her stomach she was sure to feel when Hermione stopped. It was building much quicker this time and with a flick of her tongue and a simple curl of her fingers, Hermione made the girl come completely undone.

Her whole body felt like it was having an orgasm as she cried out in pure ecstasy; she had had many orgasms before, but none of them came even close to this one. She pulled on the restraints so hard she was sure she was going to break them clean off the bed, but the golden mambas held her just fine as she finally came drifting back down to reality.

She laid there, her chest heaving as she tried to catch her breath, but it seemed Hermione had other plans and continued her assault devouring the blonde whose groans became louder and lasted all night.

* * *

When the blonde opened her cerulean eyes again, she was restraint free. Looking around the room, she realized that she was alone but the sound of the shower running let her know that Hermione was not far.

She propped herself up on her elbows, a lazy smile playing on her face as she recalled the night before and the vigorous activities they engaged in together.

 _I got lucky wiz my mate. I must be sure to_ _zank_ _whatever deity_ _zere_ _ees_ _for pairing us_ _togezer_ _._ She thought as she fell back down onto the bed, looking up at the ceiling, her smile spreading into a full grin as her veela hummed in agreement, completely content.

She rolled to the edge of the bed, deciding that maybe she should join her newfound mate in the shower, but when she tried to stand up her legs turned to jelly and she had to sit down again.

 _Zat_ _took a lot more out of me_ _zan_ _I_ _zought_ _._ Gabrielle thought to herself with a blush, but a sense of pride swelled in her chest knowing that the brunette could do that to her as she stood up a little slower this time on shaky legs.

She went to go join the other girl in the shower, but paused in her steps, her blue eyes widening when she saw the time on the bedside clock. _Merde_ _! They will come and check on us in less than an hour, we need to hurry back!_

She frantically ran around the room now, grabbing her scattered clothes and throwing them on in a hurry. Before exiting the room, the blonde opened her small purse and withdrew a card. She wrote a quick note so the photographer would not think she just ran out on her for no reason, placing a lipstick covered kiss on the card for good measure before she placed it on the pillow, she was resting on a few minutes ago.

"Until next time 'Ermione." She smiled at the closed door where the Ravenclaw bathed before ducking out into the hallway, heels in hand.

Once the door clicked shut behind her she eyed each door she passed, desperately wanting to at least try to freshen up in a separate bathroom so she wouldn't raise too many suspicions when they got back to the cabin. She stopped dead in her tracks when one door stuck out to her, a tug in her chest pulling her towards it so she did what she was raised to do and followed her instincts.

When she creaked open the door, she found it was pitch black in the room and fumbled for the light switch; when she finally found it, the light flickered and the room was filled with dark red. She raised an eyebrow at the color and soon realized that this was Hermione's darkroom. She knew she probably shouldn't snoop, but her curiosity was stronger than her will to respect the other girl's privacy. It was the golden mamba's darkroom after all; the place where the magic happened and she was getting a first look at what Hermione was working on.

She wandered further into the room, her sapphire eyes looking almost black in the lighting as she eyed the pictures strung up to dry. Most of the pictures were just different angles of the flower she saw before, but she stopped at the end when one, in particular, caught her eyes.

She leaned in closer to make sure her eyes were not deceiving her, but she was correct in the first assumption that filled her with irritation. A scowl overcame her face as she saw a picture of a person who was undeniably her sister in her veela form floating through the night sky.

"And zey say I'm reckless." Gabrielle scowled to herself. She knew she should take the picture or destroy it to protect to the veela clan and her callous sister, but at the same time she was sure there were digital copies already and she did always adore a little chaos.

"Ce n'est pas ma probleme." She shrugged as she walked away. "It's 'ers now." She spoke to herself with a smirk, her veela in her strongly disagreeing with her decision as she left the darkroom in search for her cousin who happened to be passed out on the couch next to Hermione's assistant.

"Wake up!" Gabrielle hissed as she shook her cousin who slowly opened her light blue eyes.

"What is it?"

"Look at the time, idiot." The fully dressed blonde stated annoyed.

"Merde." Light blue eyes widened while trying to disentangle from the naked form of Tonks. "We need to go now."

* * *

Hermione happily dug her fingers into her hair, thoroughly scrubbing the conditioner in as she thought about the blonde tangled in her bedsheets. She hadn't been this excited about someone in a long time; it felt almost pre-destined.

She shook her head at that thought, laughing to herself at the absurdity of it when a flash of blue eyes so cold she could almost feel an arctic wind blow over her skin, sending shivers up and down her spine invaded her vision.

There was a look of betrayal playing in those haunting eyes that stared at her so disapprovingly and heartbroken at the same time and then as soon as they arrived, they were gone. The photographer blinked dumbly at the wall as her vision came back to her. She suddenly felt dizzy and off-balance as if she had stood up too quickly.

"What the bloody hell was that...?" She frowned as she turned off the shower, carefully stepping out and grabbing a towel to dry herself off. Those eyes looked so familiar and stirred so many strange feelings inside of her that she couldn't begin to explain. "I must be losing it." She spoke to her mamba who rattled its tail with a hiss; it didn't seem to enjoy the random vision either.

She tried to shake off the odd feeling coursing through her veins as if she had done something horribly wrong, deciding to focus on more promising prospects like Gabrielle, but when she stepped back into the room her frown deepened when she saw her bed empty. She actually felt like sharing the warmth of her bed with someone else for once; something she hadn't felt inclined to do for a long time and the younger girl just up and disappeared on her.

Her heart dropped into her stomach at the sight of the empty bed, but a slight burning on her wrist caught her attention making her jump. "You know, you don't have to burn me every time you want something," Hermione growled, glaring down at the mamba resting on her wrist moving pointedly towards the bed. "She's gone." Hermione sighed. "What do you want me to do?"

The tattoo couldn't seem to be deterred and kept moving towards that direction. "Fine. I'll show you." Hermione groaned, moving towards the bed, but stopped at the edge when she saw a white rectangle resting on the pillow the blonde was using just minutes ago. Grabbing the card, the Ravenclaw couldn't help but smile when she saw the big lipstick kiss on the card covering the chicken scratch writing of Gabrielle Delacour.

'Sorry I had to leave in a rush. Let's have some more fun whenever you're back in London. I need to see you again.'

Hermione took note of the mobile number scribbled down underneath the writing and made a mental note to put it into her phone as soon as possible as she fell back onto her bed, her grin widening as the last line she read ran through her head. "I need to see you too."

* * *

 **Perpetual Nonsense A/N: Welp, there it is! In all its BDSM smutty glory haha I don't think we'll focus too heavily on BDSM in this fic though. There will be some aspects of it, but we don't want to deter too much from the importance of the storyline in this one. Anyways, we would love to hear what you guys think about this infatuation Hermione and Gabrielle have for each other. Ohhhh and that flash of cold blue eyes . . . I see trouble on the horizon X3. My drama queen ass is going to be very happy with this one indeed haha.**

 **Fran's A/N: I might have written a bit of the BDSM but I will give all the credit to nonsense as she's way more perverted than I am, lol. I think things will get more interesting since none of you have read what will come up next. I was supposed to post this two days ago but I had a terrible migraine today and I came out of the hospital and started checking this [talk about masochism since my doc recommended not being near any screens lol]. Thanks again for reading and see you next chap.**


	5. The brunch from hell

**Perpetual Nonsense AN: Guess who's back back back. Back again gain gain. Strike is back back back. Tell a friend. Nonsense is back. Fran is back. We are back. Da nun nun dun dun dun. I apologize . . . This quarantine is making me weirder with each passing day. Anyways, let's pretend that didn't happen XD I'm so happy we're finally putting up something new for Strike! It took Fran telling me we need to update by Christmas to get a fire under my ass haha Luckily, it did not take eight more months to get this out XD We're skipping over replying to reviews in this chapter, because it's been so long and I'm pretty sure most of you forgot what you reviewed anyway, but I super swear we will do it next time! Now, for my own personal song selection for the chapter I kept with the classical music theme. I was listening to Prelude in C Sharp Minor by Rachmaninoff. It's so dark and ugh, so *enter chef's kiss here* for this chapter. I'll shut up now, because I'm sure Fran will murder me if I keep rambling like an idiot haha Hope you guys enjoy the latest installment of our Greek tragedy. Oh! And side note, this whole chapter, they're all talking in French so that is why the accent isn't present. We also didn't put the convo in bold and italics to show they're talking in French in this one, because we felt like it would be way too annoying to have all that bold on the screen lol And now, I'll pass it off to Fran for the weather report.**

 **Fran A/N: *reads through nonsense's literal nonsense* ahem, hi guys long time no see. Since we are on this lock down [I moved to Spain in December so yeah...] I basically annoyed Nonsense so we could update Strike. I decided to start writing again as a way to shoo depression and also because it's hella fun. I haven't written much due to reasons, but let's not dwell on that and just enjoy our unleashed** **madness** **. We started planning the outline for the next chap although we need to sit and write.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

5.- The brunch from hell

* * *

"Make it stop" a blonde moaned annoyed at the pecking on her window. Her head throbbed and that irritating noise was getting on her nerves.

 _Maybe I drank too much wine._

"It's from mémère" Cecile commented while unrolling the parchment and frowned at the message "she wants us to be home for brunch, _today._ "

"Merde," Fleur sighed with annoyance before taking the parchment from her cousin's hands and giving it a quick read "as if I wanted to deal with the entire family and pretend that we are all a happy bunch." The heiress rubbed her temples as a way to placate her imminent headache.

"Here." Cecile handed her a potion to fight her hangover.

"Merci," Fleur replied before uncorking the vial and drinking it in two big gulps. The relief washed over her a few seconds later and everything looked less bright "I guess we need to get ready." The heiress whispered whilst letting her robe slide down and pool at her feet before heading to her bathroom with nothing more than her towel over one shoulder.

"This is going to be a pain," Cecile said to no one in particular before walking to the other bathroom to get ready, as well.

* * *

"Hurry up, you slowpoke!" Gabrielle shouted at her cousin that was trying to catch up with the smaller blonde. "I don't wanna get caught by grand-mère."

"Comin.g" Colette wiped the sweat from her brow before jogging towards her cousin. "These shoes are the worst to be walking in all this snow."

"True," Gabrielle raised one of her legs to admire her snow-covered ankle strap pumps "but you have to recognize that they look fabulous." Both witches giggled and kept walking until they passed the wards and finally saw the cabins.

"We made it!" Gabrielle slammed the door open and entered the cabin with a little skip before discarding her high heels and thick coat that was soon joined by her cousin's.

"I am glad that we got here before grand-mère found out." Colette sighed in relief with a smile.

"So, girls," a voice coming from the other side of the living room made the two girls jump in surprise "are you going to tell me where you were all night?" The stern voice of Josephine Delacour stated in a cold tone that made the younger veela shiver.

"Merde, so much for not being caught," Gabrielle whispered to her cousin that lowered her head guiltily. "Grand-mère we can explain . . ."

"Save it for brunch." Josephine raised her hand to silence her youngest granddaughter. "Now go and get ready, we will leave in an hour."

"Yes, grand-mère." Colette replied before walking away briskly.

"Fine." Gabrielle rolled her eyes and headed to her room to shower.

* * *

Just like all Sundays, and after releasing the two cousins from the northern cabins, Gabrielle and Colette joined the rest of the Delacour home for their traditional brunch.

"Well, we are _almost_ complete." A soft pop was heard and the regal form of Fleur Delacour appeared behind the glass doors that led to the garden of the Delacour villa. "Now that we are all here, we can eat brunch like a family," Josephine stated while observing how her oldest granddaughter took a seat as far away from her as possible.

"It's so good to have all the family together." Antoinette rubbed her wife's arm before turning to look at her daughters and offspring.

"Yes, it is." Collette smiled nervously, pointedly trying to avoid the scathing look Josephine was sending her and Gabrielle's way. The matriarch had hardly said two words to her and the youngest Delacour after catching them red-handed. She had expected more of a scolding and wasn't as sure as the aloof girl next to her that they had gotten away scot-free.

"Where are the mimosas?" Gabrielle whined petulantly, seemingly unfazed by her grandmother's disapproving looks.

Josephine sharp glare redirected to the impatient woman. "I think you had plenty last night. I can smell the booze oozing off of you from over here."

Fleur smirked behind her coffee mug at the comment, an almost inaudible laugh slipping from her lips on her glass. Her sister got away with murder and it was always a special treat to see her being scolded.

The laugh didn't escape Gabrielle's sharp hearing even in her foggy state. She sent her sister a withering glare while her grandmother continued on her tirade.

"What is _not_ so good is what you two pulled yesterday." Josephine glared at Gabrielle and Collette. "Leaving the northern cabins in your _stage_ is not permitted and can have serious consequences. That cabin is not to be used as a party pad."

Gabrielle couldn't help but laugh a little at the word 'party pad' coming from her grandmother's mouth. She wasn't even aware she knew the term and hearing it come from a person of her stature was odd indeed.

"It's not funny." Josephine snapped, making Gabrielle sit a little more rigid and defiantly in her seat. "You're supposed to be learning how to control your urges. Not let them go wild and indulge in your little trysts!"

"I am sorry, grand-mère" Colette whispered before looking down at the intense glare the clan's head was giving the two young adults.

Despite being considered of age for the veela and the magical community both Colette and Gabrielle were still not regarded as fully-fledged adults until they overcame _Tamasika_ or the first stage of the ways of love of the veela.

Due to the purely sexual nature of this phase, young veela were sent to the cabins until they would take a reign of her inner desires and enter the next stage, _Rajasika_ were they would be able to control their inner desires better and also become less selfish as a whole.

"Well, I am not sorry." Gabrielle huffed, putting her nose in the air.

Josephine's eyes shined gold for a second, the air in the room shifting uncomfortably. Everyone in the large dining room, even Fleur, seemed to straighten their posture and grow nervous at the energy coming from the head of the clan.

"Excuse me?"

If Gabrielle felt the imminent threat of danger hanging in the air, it didn't show. She simply stood from her seat, a smirk forming on her lips as she walked to the other end of the table where she had located the champagne and orange juice.

Fleur wrinkled her nose when her sister swept by her, the smell of alcohol lingered in the air, but was overpowered by something else she hadn't smelled before, yet seemed so familiar. She was able to pick out the scent of rain inexplicably mixed with lavender. There was an epiphany of so many scents, it was overwhelming her senses, but something else more prominent caught her attention as Gabrielle carelessly reached past her to grab a champagne glass.

"You reek of sex." Fleur snapped quietly so only her little sister would hear as she poured a generous amount of champagne into the glass.

The quiet chuckle that came from Gabrielle's mouth made Fleur's stomach turn; an awful feeling filled her with rage bubbling somewhere pushed down deep inside of her. She struggled to identify where the feeling came from and why she felt the sudden urge to wipe the smug look from her sister's face. They didn't always get along and bickered as most siblings do, but she never experienced such a strong urge to throttle her before.

"You better-" Apolline started to scold her child, but Gabrielle wasn't done.

"I have nothing to be sorry for." Gabrielle grinned as she took a hefty drink from her mimosa before she continued with her monologue "Why? Because I found my mate." The table grew so silent that you could hear a pin dropping in the distance.

"Ridiculous!" Fleur shouted as she slammed her fist against the table making everyone jump, surprised at the heiress' outburst. It was rare for the blonde model to be seen this upset. Fleur would be lying if she said she wasn't shocked by her own reaction and the foreign anger scratching its way to the surface.

"You with a mate?" Fleur's eyes tinted golden while she hid her balled fists under the table. "Don't make me laugh."

That strange scent wafted up her nose once more as Gabrielle made her way past her. A flash of aroused amber made her frown deepen at the thought of those eyes looking at her sister the way they were supposed to…

 _To what?_

"Fleur, enough." Antoinette intervened before things spiraled out of control. She knew how hot-tempered the siblings tended to be. Sparkling greens turned to look at her youngest granddaughter. "Are you sure my terrible one?"

"Well…" Gabrielle started.

"See? She's not sure" Fleur protested louder while pointing at her sister with her left hand "she's just using the _mate fairytale_ to avoid being punished for escaping the cabins, don't you see?"

"It's not a fairytale, Fleur." Apolline snapped at her oldest daughter "It's the foundation of our beliefs."

"Not to mention one heck of a matchmaker the whole ordeal is," Camille commented nonchalantly while adding jam to her croissant "but seriously Fleur, why are you so upset about this?"

 _Really, why am I feeling this way?_

"I…" the blonde model didn't know what to say, but something about the situation made her upset. The whole thing just felt terribly wrong and twisted. Something was awry and the fact that she couldn't quite put her finger on it was just irritating her further.

"She's just jealous that I found mine and she hasn't" Gabrielle sneered at her sister "and that's killing her."

"Don't be ridiculous, Gabrielle" Fleur scoffed "as if I want to be chained to someone like a dog on a leash."

"Fleur Isabelle Delacour, that is enough" Josephine's completely golden eyes made everyone grow silent. It was rare to see the clan's head this upset.

"Dear, please" Antoinette placed a hand on her wife's forearm and the latter took a deep breath before closing her eyes and rubbing the bridge of her nose "my little flower, we have talked about this, and you need to be respectful of your heritage."

Fleur begrudgingly held her tongue, wisely choosing silence instead of another tongue lashing from her family as everyone turned their attention back to her younger sibling positively preening under everyone's attention.

"So, a mate, huh" Camille grinned at her youngest daughter who was practically glowing. "I didn't expect you would find yours so soon."

"Me either." Gabrielle beamed. "But I'm so happy I did. She's perfect." Her light blue eyes glossed over as she recalled her night with the photographer, earning her another scoff from Fleur across the table.

Antoinette sent her oldest granddaughter a withering look before turning her attention to her youngest. "Well, we will have to keep a close eye on things. You are still in your first stage and that can complicate the process."

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that," Fleur muttered bitterly while Gabrielle shot her a warning look to keep her mouth shut.

"What do you mean by that Fleur?" Josephine asked with a raised eyebrow, looking completely unimpressed with how her granddaughter was acting.

"Nothing grandma." Gabrielle quickly cut in. She put up her hand to cover the side of her mouth to keep the others from seeing her mouthing to Fleur, "shut up!"

Fleur narrowed her eyes at the angry pair screaming at her to hold her tongue.

"That trick doesn't work anymore," Josephine growled, glaring at Gabrielle. "What are you saying my flower?" She hoped using Fleur's pet name would calm the younger veela, but to the heiress, it sounded condescending.

Fleur leaned back in her seat, crossing her arms, not bothering to take her hard gaze off of her sibling. "Why don't you tell them Gabby?"

Josephine's eyes glowed gold for a moment again, growing irritated with the situation and her granddaughter's hidden knowledge. "We don't keep secrets in this family."

"Well, since Gabrielle won't tell you, I will." Fleur sneered, that unfamiliar anger bubbling to the surface once more when her eyes narrowed in on some hickeys proudly displayed on her sister's neck. "She already fucked her."

"What!?" Josephine and the entire hierarchy yelled at the same time, snapping their heads in the youngest veela's direction.

"Fleur, you bitch!" Gabrielle shrieked, throwing a napkin over at her sister who seemed impassive as ever now.

"Do you have any idea how irresponsible that is?" Apolline reprimanded her youngest daughter. "There could be serious consequences for your actions!"

"This is why you're supposed to stay IN the cabin," Josephine growled, standing from her seat, her towering form leaning towards her careless granddaughter. "There is no reversing what you have done!"

"She's my mate!" Gabrielle stood up, her bright sapphires glowing gold momentarily in a rare display of her own anger. "It's my right to claim her!"

Fleur felt that heat rise into her chest at Gabrielle's proclamation. There was no way she could know that this girl truly belonged to her, especially since she just jumped into bed with her.

"You're too young to know Gabrielle." Fleur spoke through gritted teeth trying to keep her anger at bay. "You're still in your first phase."

A scoff slipped past Gabrielle's lips at her sister's insistence to interfere. "Oh, so now you're suddenly the expert on the heritage you turn your back on?"

Fleur slammed down her cup, sending bits of lukewarm coffee flying out of the mug onto the expensive table cover as she stood from her seat. "I know more than a selfish little brat like you."

"Enough!" Josephine bellowed, cutting off the feuding siblings before things escalated further than they already had. "What has gotten into you two?" She scowled, looking from Fleur to Gabrielle, then back again. The two were locked in a death stare, both of their eyes starting to glow gold as the tension continued to build in the heavy silence.

"I mean it." Josephine warned, a ring of gold showing up in her own orbs, flexing her power to stop the impending fight. "Enough."

Gabrielle was the first to break the intense staring contest, letting out a scoff, "whatever" she grumbled as she plopped unceremoniously back into her seat.

"Fleur." Camille diplomatically tried to calm her daughter down, but Fleur couldn't bring herself to relax.

Icy blue with flecks of gold still shining in the iris looked to her mother giving her a stern disapproving look that just added fuel to the fire.

 _I don't need to sit here and listen to this shit._

Fleur slammed her chair in towards the table, startling all of the younger veela while the older ones looked completely unamused by the outburst.

Apolline frowned as Fleur started to depart. "Where are you going?"

"I've lost my appetite." She sneered over her shoulder before she stormed out of the dining room.

"I will talk to her." Antoinette stood and left in Fleur's direction.

* * *

A soft knock made Fleur turn towards the door of her room. The entire place looked frozen in time. Nothing had changed for the last couple of years and she hated it. She had changed so much, visited every corner of the globe thanks to her modeling career and her flat in London was the closest to the new Fleur she wanted to be.

The one that hid her despair behind the beautifully handmade masks she wore to conceal all the pain she still felt. All the darkness that started lurking inside her after she silenced her veela in her childish outburst. The heiress scoffed at the possible consequences, not realizing that she had unleashed something greater than her, something that would take her to the brink of despair.

"My little flower" Antoinette whispered after entering the room "can we talk?"

"Why haven't you redecorated this room, mémère?" Fleur asked avoiding further confrontation. She reached some forgotten parchment and tossed it in a nearby wastebasket. "It's suffocating."

"You can redecorate it as you please if you come back." Her grandmother offered softly. She knew how hard it was for Fleur to be in the villa after what happened even if she didn't remember the whole situation, but she had to try.

"I don't want to come back!" Fleur snapped before sitting on the bed "it's so stuffy here that I feel that I can't breathe."

"Has something happened, my little flower?" Antoinette tilted her head confused. There was something different about Fleur but she couldn't put a finger on it. She tried to soothe the veela within her granddaughter but she barely felt it stir. It was as if the creature was dormant. "You are normally more tolerant of Gabrielle's antics."

 _There's something going on with Fleur, but what is it?_

"It's not right." The heiress snapped once more before taking her head in her hands.

Antoinette reached to touch her granddaughter's wrist so she could pull her hands away from her face to see the expression the heiress wore. She needed to see something that would reveal what this outburst was about. There was something awry and it unsettled her to see Fleur this way, but when their skin made contact, Fleur jolted away from her as if she had been burned.

Pain. That's all Fleur could register from the touch before a flash of gray hair and some pressure on her wrists made her jump away. Wide azure had to blink several times to realize that there were no dark eyes staring back at her but her grandmother's green.

"What is it, dear?" Antoinette tried again with worry. She had seen that reaction before and feared what it could possibly mean.

 _It is as if her childhood nightmares are returning._

"I am just angry because none of this is right!" Fleur shouted, shoving the horrible pain from her mind and deflecting what she hoped to be the cause of her turmoil. "All of this mate business is sick. I am nobody's submissive slave!"

"You are seeing things wrong, my flower" Antoinette held a fighting Fleur tight before whispering "our veela chooses the one that is the most compatible for our lives, basically what we need, not what we want."

"I..." Fleur didn't know how to respond to that. She had always seen the _mate business_ as the end of her life, her dead end. Where she becomes the _head_ of something she couldn't care less. She wanted to be free and being bound to someone for eternity didn't sound like happiness, it sounded like a prison sentence.

"Talk to me my little flower. Please." Antoinette quietly pleaded with the witch who was clearly wrestling with herself. There was something more sinister at play than her fear of mates. She could feel it deep in her bones. Something had gone amuck and the veela in Fleur was eerily silent. "I can barely feel your veela. It worries me."

 _It was a mistake coming back after silencing my veela._

 _Merde._

Fleur's face screwed up in pain at the statement. She should have known her grandmother would be able to sense the dead silence coming from within her. She should have stayed away and better yet, maybe she shouldn't have silenced it to begin with. Now she was left with this void, these flashes, this pain that replaced the numbness that she thought was intolerable, but she was beginning to think being numb was better than this. She could feel herself cracking like a poorly kept vase and it scared her.

"I..." She choked on the word as tears sprung to her eyes.

 _What if I'm stuck like this for forever?_

 _What if I sabotaged my way to happiness?_

 _To sanity?_

 _To peace of mind?_

"I think that I messed up, mémère." The model whispered softly but loud enough for her grandmother to hear.

"What did you do, Fleur?" Antoinette quietly asked while rubbing her granddaughter's back. The same way she did when the heiress was a little girl tortured by nightmares she couldn't comprehend. By the darkness that almost tainted her soul.

"I silen..." the model had no time to finish when the door was burst open to reveal her sister scowling at her.

"What do we have here? Crying on mémère's shoulder, I see" Gabrielle asked aloud before slamming the door shut "you are such a spoiled brat."

Fleur promptly pulled away from the warm embrace of her grandmother, her face set in stone once more. A stark contrast to the fragile woman that sat there just seconds before. The instinct to show strength even when she felt like she was at her breaking point was still very strong in the presence of her little sister who was doing nothing to help with her horrible mood swings.

"I'm the spoiled brat?" Fleur seethed, her rage threatening to boil over at her sister's intrusion. She clung to the anger filling her veins desperately. Anger was better than the despair and helplessness she felt before. Anger was the devil she knew. Anger was safe.

"Girls." Antoinette tried to mediate the feud she couldn't understand. "You both need to stop."

"She's the one who started it." Gabrielle pointed out childishly. "Then she goes running off, as usual," she rolled her eyes, waving her hand around the room as if to prove her point, "to cry to you so she can play the victim. She's the one who is spoiling my good news."

"Good news?" Fleur laughed. "How absurd. I've never seen a bird so happy to be locked in a cage."

"There you go again!" Gabrielle cried out, throwing her hands up in exasperation. "Not everyone has to share your insane ideals."

"They're not just ideals, they're the truth," Fleur spoke through gritted teeth, making her grandmother sigh.

Just when Antoinette thought she might be getting through to her eldest granddaughter, she doubled down. She blamed Fleur's stubbornness on Josephine, a trait Fleur clearly inherited from her.

"A mate is not a chain. They-"

"Yeah, yeah." Fleur shot up from her bed, cutting off her grandmother. "You already told me this. The veela chooses the one that IT thinks is best suited for you, without taking my own thoughts or feelings into account. I'm not some beast that will be chained down by _destiny,"_ Fleur spat the word out as if it tasted foul in her mouth. "Or so the teachings call it."

"Not this again." Gabrielle groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose in irritation. It was the same thing with Fleur since they were kids. She was always defiant, always questioning the teachings as if it was some big conspiracy created just to make her suffer. "You really are a broken record. I don't care what you think Fleur and I don't need your approval."

"Then why are you here?" Fleur glowered at her little sister. "Except to provoke me."

"Because you threw me under the bus!" Gabrielle shouted, pointedly avoiding her grandmother's disapproving gaze. "I could tell them-"

"Shut up." Fleur cut off the other girl before she could reveal her secret, her eyes flashing dangerously as a warning.

Antoinette felt the air shifting again and stood up to get between the feuding siblings. "Fleur..."

Gabrielle glared right back at her sister, not at all intimidated by the couple extra inches of height and the few extra years of experience under Fleur's belt. She knew that what needed to be said had to be private, but she was getting close to letting the cat out of the bag. She was beginning not to care if the entire family found out about Fleur's modeling career. It wasn't her job to keep her sister's secrets safe.

"Can you give us a minute?" Fleur asked Antoinette in an eerily calm voice that made the hair on the back of the elder's neck stand at attention. It didn't help that Fleur refused to look away from the slightly smaller witch standing proudly in place.

"I will not-"

"It's okay grand-mère." Gabrielle spoke in just as calm of a voice. "Fleur won't do anything." A small smirk formed on her face as she narrowed her eyes at the rigid model. "Right Fleur?"

"Right," Fleur spoke through gritted teeth, desperately trying to contain herself, but ever since she silenced her veela she was feeling more volatile and raw. It had only been one day and she was already feeling the effects of its absence.

"I don't know what's going on." Antoinette straightened her back, giving both of her granddaughters a warning look. "But you two better figure it out and fast. If I even hear your voices raise, I will be back and I promise you will not be happy with what will happen. Do you understand?"

"Yes." They both said in unison.

Antoinette didn't move from her spot, eyeing the young veela suspiciously. She didn't want to leave, but this didn't seem to be a matter she would be able to fix with brute force. She was never one to do such a thing anyway, but she feared it would be necessary if the two didn't squash this petty squabble quickly.

"I mean it." She spoke sternly, giving the girls one last hard look that she seldom used to show how serious she was before she departed.

The two stood in stiff silence for a few moments after the door clicked stuck, both of their fingers twitching, ready for the other to make a move.

"Why did you tell them?"

Gabrielle was the first to speak, her lips set in a straight line. It wasn't often people saw her being so serious. She was the one who was usually carefree, smiling and laughing while Fleur brooded in a corner, but when it came to her mate, she didn't joke around.

"Because what you did was irresponsible." Fleur shot back. The answer didn't feel right coming off of her tongue, but it was the only one her scattered brain could come up with.

So many things had happened in the span of one day. She had found her own mate, silenced her veela because of that, had that horrible vision, and now she was getting flashes of amber eyes.

The smell permeating off of Gabrielle was making it even worse; the scent of rain and lavender mixed with the scent of her sister was starting to give her a horrible headache. It was making it hard to focus and the feeling of the veela clawing at the walls inside of her was just making things worse.

"You're really going to preach to me about what is responsible and what isn't?" Gabrielle hissed, crossing her arms, and jutting out her hip. "You're the one modeling all over the world, threatening to put our clan at risk with your self-righteous bullshit. Something, you seem to fail to appreciate, that I have kept to myself."

"What do you want? An award?" Fleur sneered.

"No." Gabrielle snapped back, her sister's attitude starting to really wear on her nerves. "I just hoped that if there came a time where I needed your discretion, you would have done the same, but" Her voice lowered, disappointment shining in her light blue eyes. "I guess that's asking too much from you."

Fleur clenched her hands into tight fists, the comment hitting harder than she thought it would. "I'm trying to protect you."

"From what?" Gabrielle laughed incredulously. "My mate?"

 _Mate_

There that word was again. Painfully ringing in Fleur's ear, an irritating pest buzzing around her head that she wanted to swat away. The word coming from her sister's mouth set her teeth on edge and made her want to lash out. The only reason she could come up with this horrible feeling was the disdain she felt at the thought of being tied to someone she didn't know or choose for the rest of her life. How could it be wrong for her to want her sister to have a choice as well?

"I don't want you trapped with someone you don't even know Gabrielle."

"Someone I don't know?" The petite blonde raised an eyebrow. "You think she's some monster and _you_ don't even know her. She would never trap me."

"How can you know that?" Fleur threw up her hands, shaking her head, and looking at her sibling as if she was still some naïve five-year-old. "You just met her!"

"How can you?" Gabrielle challenged, making Fleur snap her mouth shut, leaving her free to continue on. "I know the perfect person for me would never wish to keep me constrained. I just met her, but when I saw her, I just _knew_ Fleur. Maybe you'll understand one day when you find your own."

"That will never happen," Fleur growled. She was far too stubborn to be swayed in her beliefs. She went so far as to silence her veela to ensure that that exact scenario would never and could never happen.

"You know," Gabrielle sighed, shaking her head as she turned her back on the immovable woman in front of her. Arguing with Fleur was like arguing with a brick wall; it got you absolutely nowhere. "For your mate's sake, I hope that's true."

With those last words hanging in the air, Gabrielle exited the room to leave Fleur wallowing in her own self-pity so she could join people who were actually happy for her.

"Yeah," Fleur mumbled, dropping onto the edge of her bed with a huff. "Me too."

* * *

 **Perpetual Nonsense AN: *adjusts crown* I do believe I still reign supreme as the Drama Queen haha I forgot how much I enjoyed writing this fic with the home girl. It's so much fun going off of what each of us is writing and adding on. I don't think I could write with anyone else. I love you dawg! Even if the things we create together are insanely dark, but you know how I love my drama and angst lol Now, I know it's been a while, but I would adore to hear your guys' thoughts on the chapter and Fleur's long tirade. Now, I know Fran is going to kill me for my absurdly stupid jokes, but I'm ending my AN this way anyways! I think this chapter showed I really am American. BECAUSE I'M DROPPING BOMBS! . . . . . I'll see my way out . . .**

 **Fran A/N: Awww luv you too you crazy ass drama girl. Imagine when Fleur finds out that Gabs slept with Hermione, you should all need a shelter for that atomic reaction, haha [see, I can make lame jokes too XD]** **Lol the first time I read nonsense's jokes I just rolled my eyes but after writing until 5 am everything is funny now lol. As I stated before, this fic is way out of our fluffy comfort zone. She will keep torturing you on her own fic while I continue spreading the fluff on my one-shot collection. We would love to read your thoughts and we will reply this time, promise.**


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